Megadimension Neptunia Love Plus Plus Extend
by animerelatedlover
Summary: SEQUEL TO CF- To the lost. To the new. To the separation. To the reuniting. To the odd. To the solution. To the family. To the nightmare. To the dream. To the next. To the child. The world hides its schemes to anyone. Executing without a sound. A paradise lost - regained. Embracing; the years lost are found. And then The World presented on the stage. H-SCENES STILL IMMINENT
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"*Yaaaaaaaaawn*… Mmm, taking a nap in the warmth of the Planeptune sun is the best!"

"Good morning to you too" I greeted.

"Jared! Good morning!" acting like she hadn't expected me, she gives me a hug and smothers her face on my chest. I also return the same hug, rubbing her back and burying my nose on her hair.

It's the season of spring again in this futuristic-country called Planeptune. The cherry park, which is filled to the brim with cherry trees has its petals dancing in the air as it rides on the spring wind. There is a nice view of the mountain in the background too. The slight green and pink background-foreground gives off an amazing piece of artwork. There are people here too, kids playing, men drinking, women gossiping, everyone enjoying the astonishing view that nature offers. Some come and go passing by from our spot. They take a peek and quickly shrug it off once they know that it was just us two.

Neptune and I are staying here at the park taking a break from all of our hard work for the past week or so. It's been quite hectic lately, papers after papers all piling on top of one another. And after going through all that, we decided to take a breather. After we had our usual date, our last stop is here, rejuvenating our energy.

"Had a nice sleep?"

"Mhm! Your lap's pretty comfy too, huh? It's like a pillow"

"I'm not all muscle, you know. I do literally have some spots here and there"

"Like your stomach right?"

"That's rich coming from you. Based on your record before the New Year's you gained 1 kilo"

"Hm hmm! You won't be able to say that after I do my secret technique" she smiles mischievously. Oh, is she now considering to exercise?

"And I can do it without doing your mambo jumbo!" she says so proudly.

"Um, what? Laying on your stomach?"

"*GEEEEH!* That's wrong!" she imitates a buzzer.

"I don't think there's a buzzer that says 'GEEEEEH!'" I imitate her.

"No one says 'GEEEEH!' these days, so I kinda want to revive it…" the horrors of anything mainstream is that they lose popularity as quickly as they rise.

"Oh? What do people say now?"

"'Kyaaa!' or 'Doryaaa!' or 'Zeeyaaa!' or 'Muda Muda!'" what's with the random Japanese?

"Don't they geeeh when they eat something disgusting?"

"They 'GWEEEH!' not 'GEEEH!'" she points out the difference.

"Hmm… Now that you point it out…" they do make a "GWEEEEH!" sound rather than "GEEEH!"

"And sometimes they say 'BLRRRRG!'"

"That's the sound of them trying to hold their vomit"

"And then they go 'GUAAAAAAAAH!'"

"Wow, that would be a mess"

"The hardships of starting a trend again…"

"It's a long road ahead. Good luck lonely soldier"

"Aye, aye. Matey, my Captainey!" she salutes sloppily, which is cute.

"Ahahahaha!"

"Ahahahaha!"

We both laugh. We laugh at the ridiculous exchange that we just had. What were we talking about again? About GEEH and GWAAAH! And the road of starting a trend again? Aha. We really are saying some pretty random things.

"Anyways… since we're both rested and all that…" I stand up and fluff of some leaves on my pants.

"Wanna go home?" I extend my hand to her…

"Mhm! Let's!" and she takes it with glee.

It's been 2 years since our marriage. So far, our relationship is as random, fun, and colorful, just as always. Apart from a few stuff, there hasn't been anything major that has happened to us. Most of the time, the only major thing that had ever happen are Neptune's crazy ideas of fun. Even I am baffled with how much stuff she can uniquely think of just to add spices in our relationship. Talk about a diligent wife.

I've been living with Neptune on the top floor of the Planeptower, a.k.a. the Basilicom. And I also have a job. Having been tired of my life as freeloader, I managed to get Histy into hiring me as her personal assistant, granted my pay isn't as great as hers but seeing as how little I have in terms of monthly dues; electricity is paid off by tax, our food is being managed by Histy, water is tax, internet, yes we also have to pay for the internet, it's on Nepgear's, my phone is being paid off by Iffy, and I don't particularly need insurances, I see why not.

As we walk, we pass by some families having fun with their kids. One of those kids looks at our direction and pointed out that it's the "CPU of Planeptune that I always see on TV! Mama! Mama! Look!". Of course the kid has no tact that the person she's pointing to is spending a day with her husband. Neptune, having the innate talent of being good with kids, waves her hand towards the kid as the kid does the same.

"…" Neptune's hand holds tight on mine. I return it by playing with her fingers.

We exit the park and enter the busy streets of the city itself. We only have one place to go after all and it's the one building that sticks out like a sore thumb. The quickest way to get there is through those blue-tube-transport thingies-that-almost-replaces-side-walks. But before we do so…

"Let's go to the nearest vending machine first, I'm kinda parched…" I was hoping that we could pass a vendor or something before we make it out of the park.

"Sure!"

We cross the busy street as the light on the other side goes green. It's the afternoon, about 2 o'clock and it's not that surprising that there's a lot of people outside today. Ranging from students going home from school to business men and women rushing towards their next task. There's also some housewives carrying a bag heading towards the shopping mall prepping for their dinner.

After crossing the street we head forward towards one of the tube-thingies about 20 meters away from us. If memory serves me right, there's a vending machine along this street by the alley though for the life of me I can't remember which alley it was. As we walk, I take some peeks at the first alley that came up. None. Finding some hope for the second alley that is coming. My hopes were not dashed away and found a vending machine full of drinks; ready to serve my parched stomach at the behest of a few silvers.

We make our detour to the vending machine…

"And so, here we find our heroine in a spooky back alley, shrouded in darkness in the middle of the afternoon..."

"Are you actually thinking that something might happen?"

"Yup! Like that one shady dude that calls us 'stranger' and opens his jacket to sell his stuff to us"

"I do wonder how he can fit an RPG there"

"Nepu? What ya mean?"

"RPG's are long boom-sticks so it's hard to hide it inside a jacket. I can't even do that..."

"Ooh. So even you can't do something, huh. I mean, I've seen people do stuff like that normally hiding big things inside their pockets" normally? So you're telling me that Compa's bag, that is able to hide the entire universe in it is a 'common' skill? I might be more primitive than I thought.

"In any case, what do you want? I'm going for some iced coffee" I asked as we reach the vending machine.

"Pudding drink please!"

"Should have known" putting some spare change in the coin hole of the vending machine, the on the individual buttons light up. I press the button right below a can of Ice Coffee and the button of a can of Pudding Juice. Yup, Planeptune has a popular drink made from pudding. Though our hospitals suggest we take it in light moderation as it can shoot up our sugar levels.

The machine begins working its magic by buzzing for a bit.

" _-Someone, save me..._ "

"Nepu!? Is that a voice?" yes it is.

"Might be our stranger guy..." I said as I pick up our drinks from the pocket of the vending machine.

" _-Someone, anyone… Save me… Save… the Zero Dimension..._ " it speaks again. This time a tad louder.

"Hellooooo? Someone there? C'mon, answer me!" Neptune shouts at no one in particular in the alley as she follows the source of the voice; unknowingly heading towards a corner filled with garbage.

"Find anything?" I have my instincts scanning the area, but it's not picking up on anything strange. Or stranger.

"...That's so weird. I could've sworn I heard it coming from around here" beside that garbage dump is a door leading to the inside of the building. She must have thought that someone might be behind it is started speaking.

*TICK!*

"...Hm?" kicking something she looks down at her feet.

"Wait. What's this on the ground?" she picks up the strange, a small white object with four ports at the front. 2 buttons on the top from one corner to the other corner. And a stylized disk cover with a swirl and some fingers on it.

"It almost looks like a… game console…?" Neptune examines the object.

"But who even makes this? It's got a white body, a swirl mark- even a sophisticated games sommelier like myself has never seen anything like this. What you think Jared?"

"Maybe it's someone's prototype or something" maybe it's one of Planeptune's early prototype console or something that didn't get approved.

"Hm… Well, seeing as there is no one around here…. I guess I'll just-!"

"Hold your pudding drink woman" I put the cold pudding drink on her neck.

"Nepu! That's cold!" I retreat her drink immediately as she turns around and complains.

"Are you serious? Someone might come back for it"

"But it's in the garbage so surely someone doesn't want it anymore"

"Well, yeah. I get your point… fine… let's 'deposit' it" now I look silly just by stopping her. She is more and more getting sharper by the day so that fills my chest with pride.

"Yup, let's deposit this at the Basilicom for safekeeping! Yeah!" finally figuring out her legal words. She leads the march towards the end of the alley.

"Never a dull moment..." miraculously opening a can of iced coffee with one hand, I begin drinking as she leads me to another day with fun events, quiet past times, and just plain randomness; just like it has always been for 2 years since our marriage. Maybe right now, she might be thinking of ways to make things interesting with her new discovery. I mean, the gleam in her eyes is really bright.

"...I'm getting soft..." there hasn't been any incidents since that time. And all I've been doing to keep my physique up is some exercise and some giant monster hunting whenever I get the chance. It's no surprise that whenever there's no 'need' for a certain something we tend to forget or lose it.

"But that's for another time..." for now, let's see how this day goes.

Although strangely, that voice that we both heard sounded like someone's particular familial voice. It must by my imagination but strangely my instincts said it's not.

' _I hope it's just my imagination, really..._ '

* * *

 _A/N: Hooray! I've got_ Rom's _Love Story the doujin work posted on both Patre-on and at Facebook. Check it out over there! (both links at the top of my profile)._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Hey Nepgear! Lookie! Look! I found a super cool, vintage game console!" as though she found the map to the lost city of Atlantis, she carries the console over her head showing it to her Little Sister, who is polishing the TV in the living area.

"Oh? Welcome back, Sis. Big Brother" she stands up on the spot. I lifted the can of pudding drink to her but she quietly refused.

"Neptune! Where in Gamindustri have you been? This is not the time to be goofing off! I will not forgive you today!" Histy floats from behind me with an angry gait leading her towards our lazy leader.

"Gah?! Histy!" shocked that she was caught red-handed for leaving work, Histy wasted no time at all and started firing her machine gun lectures.

"Listen, Neptune! We're in the midst of Gamindustri's Shift Period and this is simply not the time for brash behavior"

"Shift period? What's that again?"

"Even though I had explained it so thoroughly… I will explain it once again, so please, listen" giving another sigh she starts explaining.

"The CPU Shift Period is the season when citizens begin searching for new CPUs to follow, instead of placing their faith in those already presiding" what loose faith our people have.

"We're currently in the window of time when rumors about the CPUs will begin circulating, tarnishing their reputations" what are they? The paparazzi? Twisting words and whatnot just to get a scoop?

"In fact, at this very moment, the other CPUs have been working relentlessly to prepare specialized teams to counter any allegations" so are they censoring free speech?

"Pffft, I'm totally fine. This is Planeptune we're talking about! My people love me!"

"Besides, isn't Noire the only one who's made an actual team? Vert has that MMO tourney and Blanc has Rookie Novelist Awards coming up soon..."

"...Dear me. Why is it that all the CPUs lack mature and appropriate sense of danger?"

"Well probably because they haven't been receiving death threats like Big Brother has"

"Yeah… I've been receiving those through my public email and now it's filled up the allocated space..."

Most of them are just hatemail and wanting me dead because I married Neptune. I was receiving them when we publicly announced it. But even before that, the media has been hard pressed on me ever since our 1-year prep to marriage. Even though they're the minority group, it's a real pain to have eyes around every corner.

"That too is a concern. Ideally, I want any and all rumors to die down. But ever since the wedding it continued non-stop" Histy said.

"That's just the way the cookie crumbles. Anyway, Nep Jr., think you can fix this console? It looks like it's pretty broken.

"...*Sigh* It cannot be helped. It appears I will be constructing a solution on my own for Planeptune's safety"

"Should I help?" I ask our fairy friend before she leaves.

"You're still on break, Jared, and you just came home. So it's fine for a bit" how considerate.

"Well, call whenever you need me" she hovers away just as I said it.

"I'm not sure if I can, it doesn't look like technology I'm familiar with… May I inspect it for a moment, Big Sis?"

Nepgear takes the console from her Big Sister and walks to the middle of the living area. She sits on the floor inspecting it as though looking for an ant. Neptune followed suit while I sit on the sofa and pop open the can of pudding drink, Neptune doesn't seem to want to drink it, and watch them do their sisterly stuff since I have free time.

"Hmmm..."

"- _Anyone… Please, save us..._ "

"...Huh? Sis, did you hear that...?"

"Yeah! But where is it coming from?"

"Probably from that console, right Li'l Sis? *SIIIP!*"

"Mhm… It does sound crazy though" the reasoning she means. Without thinking, her finger moves to the triangle orange button and pre-!

*CLICK!*

"..."

"Well, it's silly of me to think that it's going to do anything when it's not connected to a power source"

"Hoo~"

"...Ahaha, so nothing happened huh..."

"Uh… what's with the sudden sigh of relief..."

"Nothing, Nepgear" I lied. I mean, who wouldn't get nervous pressing a button from a talking box made out of plastic.

"If you say so… But this console is using a three-pronged plug. Lemme go get it" Nepgear stands up from her spot and leaves the LSD room.

"Nepuuuu… I've never been so nervous in my entire life"

"I thought you were a fearless type of character? *SIP*"

"Well, I'm not _that_ … HEY! You're drinking my drink!"

"I thought you don't want it anymore? *SIP*"

"Don't just take a sip while you talk!"

"What's wrong with taking a sip while I talk? *SIP*"

"Gaaah! That does it mister!" she tackles me but is met with the soft cushion of the sofa. I stand on the side while I watch a smile at her mischievously.

"Woman *SIP!* you need more years before you get me *SIP!*"

"Gah!"

"Woops… *SIP*"

"And there they go again… Well, let's just fix this console then" hearing Nepgear mutter to herself while I play catch with her Big Sister.

Following the standard procedure of fixing things, she plugs the cord's female end to the console and plugs the male end to an open plug. She presses the button again and nothing seems to work.

"Hmmm… Maybe it's something about the motherboard? Or maybe the power supply unit? Hmm..."

"You can test for both… *SIP!*"

"I told you to stop drinking!"

"I don't know, Big Brother. power supplies tend to break everything too"

"Not unless it's a short, maybe it just needs a fuse replacement?"

"Hmm… Or maybe the transformer is gone too. Let me get my testers"

"All right… *SIP!*"

"Haaaaa!"

"Nope!" I dodge another tackle from Neptune.

Nepgear stands up again and walks towards hall once again to…!

*SQZ!*

"- _Mama… Papa…!_ "

"Gotcha!"

*BOOM!*

*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

Suddenly, without warning, something exploded. It sounded like someone fired off a firecracker. And just as suddenly as the explosion happened, a strong gust of wind blows from behind. Or rather, from the outside. Pushing us towards something. My legs can barely touch the ground, a testament to how strong the wind is.

My mind overclocks as soon as this happens, my eyes quickly scan the area. Following where the wind is going. There, right beside the stand of the TV. To where an outlet is powering a white console, is where all the wind goes to, vacuuming everything as though it was an actual vacuum cleaner.

"Neptune! Grab on! we're being swallowed up!" I grab Neptune wrist and pull her in. I hold her with one arm as I grab the sofa's leg another, sitting me down the floor.

"Nepu! Wh-! What in the what is this!? Why are being swallowed up in our own house!"

"Wh-What should we do!? I can't...!"

"Nepgear!" Nepgear is holding on to dear life, holding on by using the foot of the dining chair.

"Nepgear just keep grab on as long as you…!" and just as I said it...

*CRACK!* *BREAK!*

"...Well, fuck..." … the leg of the sofa broke. Oh, and Nepgear's dining chair's leg also broke.

The airlifted up both Neptune and I off the ground with ease. Carrying us towards the console. As my mind wondered how are we in the name of science are we going to fit into a tiny piece of plastic, my eyes see static as though I'm losing connection to the world.

*SQZZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZZZZ!*

"We're getting sucked in! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

*SQZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!**SQZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!*

 _152.987545876_

*SQZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!*


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

*SQZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!*

"Aaaaaah!"

"Oh the goodness!"

"Oh sorry…" oh the goodness?

I woke up screaming again. It's not the first time I've woken up screaming, it's fact of life and everyone reading this series that I'm some sort of screamer. Neptune would even categorize me as the "sleeping surprise". And honestly, I like some of the titles she's giving me.

Nepgear surprised that her Big Brother suddenly screamed, lands on her butt. She must have been trying to wake me up. Well, she succeeded though, but not in a fashion she expected.

"You okay?" she fixes herself as she answered.

"Mhm, I'm okay. But more importantly, Big Brother, look!"

"Hmm… Oh, my…" is this déjà vu?

The sky is purple, a purple malicious sky the lights up the entire area. Blue lightning in the sky, that looks like a picture plastered there, it looks more like cracks of a ceiling now that I give it a good look. My eyes go down from the sky, looking at buildings after buildings in not in their glory days. Some with signs of burning while others collapse. I look around my immediate area, we're on the road. The roads have piles of rubbles and parts of buildings on top of rubbles. Fallen buildings on top of rubbles. Vehicles are torn and bent on the sides of the streets as though they were played with by a child. A torn city, driven to its absolute limit. I consciously try to not look at Nepgear and be reminded of that-event-that-didn't-happen.

"Nepgear, where's Neptune? I was still holding her if I remember right" I ask as my brain overclocks immediately. If we're in a war-torn country then we can't stay here for long.

"Uh, Sis is…-!" a shocked expression on her face as she

I look follow where her finger points and see a familiar parka dress it lilac colored hair. She's sprawled on the grou-!

"Fuck! Neptune!" my body moves before my mind could finish registering. I made it halfway across the street in one stride and slide the rest of the half to her. I turn her front side towards me and saw...!

"Zzzz… Zzzz…Pudding…" oh my gawd, what am I going to do with this girl?

"Jaysus Christ, Neptune, don't give me a heart attack"

"Is she okay, Big-Oh she was just sleeping…"

"Yeah, go wake her up for me will ya? I need to scan the immediate area we're in"

"Okay"

With Nepgear kneeling beside me, I stand up and walk away from the sisters to take a look around. Or rather let my mind wander a bit. My instincts have already scanned my immediate area and it seems there isn't anyone or anything that's going to jump out of nowhere. Though weirdly, I don't feel malice at all. Compared to that-event-that-didn't-happen, it feels familial. A sign that a part of my past is coming to get me again?

"Just like that time, no use standing around" I whisper to myself. At least this time, I won't be worried about my wife. Probably, she's way too impulsive.

"Ha! Did Histy find out we're slacking off to fix that console? Has she finally morphed into a blood-thirsty demon?!" see? Just like this time. I turn to the two Planeptune sisters as soon as I heard Neptune shout something that my mind clearly can or cannot comprehend.

"….Huh?

Neptune looks around as soon as she realizes where we are. Her eyes dart back and forth. Her Sister, the surrounding area, to me, who is walking back towards the two, to the surrounding area, back to her sister, back to me, and back to the surrounding area…

"Oh right. It's just a dream. Well then, good night" completely in denial, she somehow concluded that it's a dream and closes her eyes.

"I told you it's not a dream, Sis!"

"No… No, no, no, this can't be possible. I mean we were just in our tower, right? Why would we suddenly be in a place like this?" finally accepting reality, Neptune questions our predicament.

"I don't know… When I came to, we were just… here. What happened…?"

"Well, one thing is for sure, staying here doesn't really help us" I said.

"Yup! It can't be helped if we don't know where we are" Neptune agrees.

"The city's collapsed, there are weird cracks in the sky, but ya know, this is totally a normal occurrence in games!" in usual Neptune fashion she relates our current situation with games.

"Um, Neptune, even if it happens often in games, this should not be happening here, in reality…" nah, Nepgear. I've seen weirder shit.

"Yeah, yeah, but let's not sweat the small stuff, alright? Hey, there might be some NPCs out and about… Let's go for a walk!" with that as queue, I extend a hand to her, she grabs it and I pull her up. Also, if we ever do find NPCs I don't want to press a button for it to talk the same lines over and over.

"I'm sure that'll be ten times better than moping around in a place like this, right Jared?"

"Mhm, you're right. It's better than just waiting around for an event to appear" I pull my little Sister up as soon as she said that.

"All right! If that's the case let's go!" with Neptune still holding my hand, and Nepgear's as well, she suddenly started marching on her own, towing us along.

We follow a road that might lead us to anywhere. The roads are cracked as though it's going to collapse at any moment. Some sections of the ground lifted itself off level, while some collapsed already, revealing the pipes and drains. Our footsteps echo maliciously around us. It's too quiet, like the three of us are the only people here. There aren't any explosions in the distance to be heard. No gunfire being fired or anything remotely to calling it a war-torn city. It feels more like this is the aftermath of a war that had just ended 2 days ago.

Oddly though, there are smaller thin cracks I can see. Thin and spreads like a spider's web that covers the entire city they don't seem to be fragile enough to break. But at the same time, they give off an eerie green glow as though something is about to burst open.

We continue our walk, following the road. Not turning left or right, just going straight. We take in the view and the sounds, or lack thereof, that is presented to us. Ironically, the lack of any sound effects, that contrasts the devastating view, gives this city a sort-of, virgin atmosphere. An atmosphere that must not be perverted. A tense atmosphere that can be described as fear.

"This is strange…" I voice my concern.

"Mhm, there's no one around…" Nepgear adds to my thought.

"Hmmm… That's pretty weird. You'd think there'd be at least be a cat, a hologram or something…" Neptune said. Though any signs of life are helpful right about now.

"Heeeeeey! Anyone heeeeere?!" Neptune shouts at the top of her lungs. But the city only returned her own question.

"There's something really eerie about this place…" no shit, Nepgear.

"Those cracks running through the streets and buildings don't seem like regular cracks" no shit, Nepgear.

"You're right. They're all green and pretty. I feel like if stared at them for long enough, they'd suck me right in" Neptune crouches down and takes look at the green glowing cracks with more curiosity than a 4-year-old child.

"There are similar cracks in the sky too… It's almost as if the fabric of space and time itself has cracks in it…" Nepgear, you can't put cracks in time. No matter how many times the media tells you, you can't put cracks in time.

"And these buildings… they feel familiar… Kind of like some of the ones we have back in Planeptune…"

"Hrm… now that you mention it Little Sister…" I overlay my memories of Planeptune on top of the scenery. It almost looks like the same, placement wise.

"Hmmm… Would Planeptune look like this if Planeptune entered an apocalypse?"

"I think it'd be far more gruesome. This place has less burned buildings. It needs more destruction to make it look the part"

"Oh! What if a giant bomb suddenly exploded?"

"It checks out perfectly"

"D-Don't say things like that, you two! That's bad!" well, teasing our little Sister has come to an end.

"But when I look more closely, I don't recognize any of these areas, so I don't think it's Planeptune…" Nepgear adds her doubt to her previous statement.

"Doy! Come on, little Nep, that city's my backyard, I'd recognize it if I was walking around it blindfolded" and how are you going to do that?

"Well, it does us no good to keep brooding here. Forward, march!" driven by her passion to find any sign of life, my wife mimics a march of a soldier.

"Where does her confidence come from at times like this, I wonder…?" Nepgear questions loudly to which her older sister overhears. She turns around and face us to answer.

"My confidence, you ask…? It's obviously 'cause I'm-!"

"-hungry"

"-main cha-! Hey! Don't steal my lines!"

"Too late wo-! Neptune, GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

"rrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAR!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"Nepu!"

Something big and black, and no I'm not giving any innuendos here, dived from above at sonic breaking speeds towards my lilac-haired wife. Instinct took over my body immediately and I dashed forward. As soon as I'm within sliding range, I immediately slide towards her while apologizing to my pants in the process as well. I swept her off her balance with my feet and caught her with the rest of my body. The giant black thing missed Neptune by a hair.

"Goodness!" the thing also tried to tackle my little sister-in-law but she dodged it out of surprise from the thing.

The black giant thing rises up in the air after missing two targets. It reaches its peak altitude and starts descending ominously as though mimicking itself as last main boss in one of Neptune's games. And I think I remember I haven't finished that one yet.

"Are you two okay?"

"Nepu! What is that?"

"It seems like a..."

Pulling myself up and Neptune, Nepgear regroups with us as the black being turned towards us as it descends with strong beats of wind accompanying it. It's a…

"Oh, it's just a… Uh…" my head hurts trying to classify this thing... I mean, it looks like it's the Spider-Man that I hated back when I first came to this place that guarded those Keys. Oh gawd, remembering it makes me remember the pungent smell that I have to sacrifice almost 1 sack full of lemons rid me of it. Plus a shit ton full of body wash.

In any case, we have a typical humanoid top, I say humanoid because it has 2 arms, with 3 fingers, a chest and stomach area, and head and shoulders that tells me it's a humanoid. The bottom of the waist is the abdomen of the _Latrodectus hasseltii_ with its colors swapped. It has wings of a _Calliphora nigrithorax_. From the back of it's waist, dangling towards the front like a loose belt, are the tentacles of an _Amphioctopus marginatus_. It has about 8 claws in total that is coming from the back. 2 of those are wrapped to it's shoulder, 4 of those, gold in color, are stretched and pointing to his sides, and the final 2 is just growing to the bottom.

-Also it's face looks like it's straight out of what Neptune is watching almost every morning. Of course I also don't recognize those claws anywhere, it might be unique to this thing.

Now you see why I can't describe this thing, it's a mishmash of 3 species. Or more if I did a thorough study on it.

"Why are you rubbing your temples, Big Brother?"

"Oh nothing Nepgear, I just feel like that I need to go to college again and take up Biology as my specialization again" is this thing even possible? Has science advanced too much for me to keep up?

"Well, it's just your run of a mill monster. No need to sweat the small stuff" I'm sorry woman, I can't. I need to practice what I learned or my brain won't be in tip-top shape.

"Well whatya say Nep Jr.! My protag ruleset has found local person number 1" who in the right frame of mind would consider this loud obnoxious thing that is floating in the air staring ominously at us as local person number 1!? Oh right, my wife.

"No, Big Sis! No matter how you look, I don't think we can converse with it! It's full of murderous intent!" see!? Even my little sister agrees.

" Uhhh… I guess so, huh?" you just realized it now!?

"rrrrrRRRRRRRROOOOOAR!"

"And here I thought we'd finally run into someone else besides us..."

"Hmmmmm..."

"What is it Big Brother?"

"I change my mind. Maybe this thing can actually speak?" it's really a question.

"Eh?"

"Ooooh!"

"I mean, if we consider it like any other animal, sometimes some animals show their dominance so to get us off their territory. And in other religions such as zoolatry, gods live among animals and therefore they are wise..."

"Eh so... ? What do you mean?"

"Riding on that idea, how about speaking its language?" it's a question really.

"Oooh! Good idea, Jared! Try it out!"

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Coz you're the one that suggested it"

"No no no no no! Speaking its language won't make it converse to us at all!"

"How rude… Let me tell you that I'm almost a native speaker on every language known to man"

"No no no no no! Remember the last time you did that?"

"Huh…? When did that happen?" I play dumb.

"You tried conversing to a dragon and then spit fire at you!"

"The dragon was just cranky" yeah, I tried it sometime when I was doing some quests. It was an experiment after some thorough research about monsters during my break time between work. The research failed to make any breakthroughs about communicating with non-homo sapiens. That research is still alive and kicking.

"No it's not! Jeez, Big Brother is just like Big Sis now!"

"Such blasphemy, I would never eat pudding in them middle of the night"

"Yeah, only I would do that!"

"...Ugh. I give up. Just do what you want to do..." I got my approval from my little Sis.

"Alright. Wish me luck" I step forward to it.

"Ask for the nearest pudding store okay?"

"As always"

The being takes a look at me as I go near it. The wind beats harder and harder as I get close. Its eyes locked onto me, gauging at my intention. My eyes meets it's gaze. It's mouth opened and exhales its bad breath at me. Telling me of its egotistic personality that its on top of the food chain than me. Jaysus mate, I have some great mouthwash for that.

"~roooooar" I mimicked it's roar.

"...*Sigh*" it opens it's mouth again and exhales even more bad breath at me. Holy shit that is so bad.

"Neptune! I don't think it's working"

"Try again! It's must be like Noire!"

"Oh right right. Some are dishonest by nature..."

"I really don't think-!"

"..." I said to it as I 'stare' back its gaze.

Translation: Attempt to kill my wife again and I'll tear you apart limb by limb.

"RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAR!" well that got his attention.

"I don't think it wants to converse with us anymore!" I shouted at them at the obvious predicament.

"Well, there's nothing we can do if the enemy's rarin' to go! Nepgear, let's transform and stomp it!"

"Right!"

"Take a look!"

"Processor Unit, set!"

Both of them stand confidently at the monster, transforming into their…

"..."

"..."

"..."

...non-transformed selves.

"...Um…"

"...Aa… Huh…?"

"Oh gawd..." I facepalm well we're in a serious bind alright.

"Nothing… happened…?"

"rrrrrRRRRRRRROOOOOAR!"

The monster beats its wings once and a huge gust of wind that is as strong as category 5 hurricane hits us like a truck. I use the wind to carry me to the two, regrouping with them.

"Gah?! Hey, that's dangerous! Oh, I see, you don't know it's against the rules to attack during a transformation sequence!" Neptune complains.

"I don't think a monster will understand even if you tell them that..." nah, I can translate it for you if you want. But I don't think it's in a listening mood.

"I don't know why we can't go HDD, but we have to take care of the enemy in front of us first!"

"Try summoning your weapons, you two" I make a gamble of a request. We're screwed, probably, if we don't have weapons.

Suddenly, a katana that I'm all too familiar with appears in front of me. My arm moves automatically to it and catches it before it falls. I take brief glances to both of my sides and see that both of them have their weapons out.

"Convenient that you can summon your weapons..." I said as I familiarize myself once more with the weapon.

"Thank goodness that we have some sort of self-defense" Nepgear sighed in relief, before turning towards the monster in all seriousness.

"Let's go, Jared! Nep Jr.!"

"Right!" we scatter.

"RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAR!"

I guess I'll be having a good work out today.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"That… was disappointing..."

"Rooaar..." the monster whimpered.

To sum up the battle, in short, it's...

"Whew… Easy peasy! We didn't need HDD" my wife so eloquently describes.

Yup. It was easy. Too easy.I just feel silly by taking the thing seriously. Even though it has arms, it doesn't even use it creatively and just keeps charging at us like a raging bull. The strategy is so simple that it hurts. With Nepgear's beam sword able to cut through almost anything, I just threw the sword towards its wings and then feel towards the ground. I mean, it took the battle less than 2 minutes before it concluded. And I was fully expecting it to do some other things as well.

"It's so unnoteworthy that the author doesn't want to write it"

"Isn't it because we're still in the early chapters?" Neptune adds.

"Rooaar..." the monster still whimpered as though wanting it to be given attention.

"I-I think we should leave this monster alone now" Nepgear suggested.

With that suggestion, the katana in both me and my wife disappeared and the three of us walk away continuing our search for anyone to talk to.

"But why couldn't we transform…?" Nepgear asked.

"Maybe because we're in a different..." Oh...

"...Oh!" it seems my little Sister thought the same thing.

"What is it, Nep Jr.?"

"Sis, it's our Shares! It thought something was weird, I can't feel our shares at all!"

"No way. I trounched a certain Noire in a character ranking contest. That popularity is like the source of our shares, so to be missing..."

"Well, how about conjuring up your rainbow glitters like that one time on Christmas" yup, she used her own nation Shares to make rainbow glitters fall from the sky.

"Alright… Hmmm~~..." she immediately raised her hands in front of her and closed her eyes to concentrate.

"...Hmm…!?" her face turned from confidence to confusion.

"No… way..." then to denial...

"...Hmmm!? It's gone!" and then screamed...

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Whaaaaaaaat!? Why!? Shares are the faith people have in CPUs! It's impossible for them to be at zero!"...and then panicked.

"And for us to be unable to be unable to transform in a post-apocalyptic horror world like this… We're going to be STERILIZED!" I don't think we're going to be sterilized just because you can't transform. At the most, being squashed would be the most possible thing that could happen to us.

"P-Please calm down, Sis…! Our Shares isn't totally zero per se"

"The fact that you two are able to summon your weapons, 2 on Neptune's part, shows that you two have at least some amount of Shares leeching off from me" given my relationship with these two, I think the amount is higher than normal.

"Oh yeah, we did that kind of stuff with Pseudo-Blanc last time. Saved our bacon really..."

"If we find more people here you two might be able to transform"

"Wouldn't Sis be able to transform since Big Brother love Sis very much?"

"..."

"..."

"NEPU! Y-Y-Y-You don't love me enough to make me transform!" she charges at me with fangs ready to tear my face off.

"OW! Dammit, your teeth are getting sharper!" I manage to put my forearm in front of me to defend my face and she chews on it regardless.

"Mmmgh!? Mgmgmh!?"

Translation: So who is it!? Who are you cheating with!?

"Just so you know I am not cheating on anyone! Why would you say that Little Sister!?"

"W-Well, it was just a thought..."

"Hgmmm! Mggmmh! Mghm!"

Translation: Pervert! Bully! Cheater!

"No, I am not! OW!" is she serious about biting my arm off!?

"A-Anyway, that monster we just fought… Have you two ever seen anything like it before?"

"Mggmh! Ah! That super gross mutant bug thing? Nope! And I kinda wish I never had. What about you?" Neptune finally letting my arm free from her bite answered our Little Sister's inquiry.

"It was my first time, too. Was there anything like that, Big Brother?"

"Nope. Our monsters haven't evolved into something that of a mishmash. If it did, Histy and I would know"

"Unfamiliar monsters in an unfamiliar land… Where the goodness are we…? Can we actually get out of here a-!"

"Don't say something ominous Little Sister" I make her gulp her last word by petting her head.

"I'm sorry..." she apologizes. I pet her head more.

"In these kinds of situations, we need both info and a way for people to ping us" letting people know that you are here is one of the rules of surviving.

"Oh! I forgot that I have the N-gear with me! I'll try contacting someone" she pulled out a tablet from her leg bag and started fiddling with it.

"Try not to trip" I tell her. She does tend to have tunnel vision so I let her work forward in front of me and look out for her from behind.

We give Nepgear some time to herself as my wife and I walk hand-in-hand. The buildings all look similar in design to be honest. Each building, if I were to assume its former glory, looks like its futuristic. While some are also trying to be futuristic as well. I'm starting to think that this place is…

"Neptune, are you…Hm?"

As I was about to finish my question, I catch Neptune's eyes staring blankly down at the ground. And from her downcast look, I see glints of tiny light reflections shine in between her hair and crawling slowly down to her chin through her cheek.

"Come on, don't tell me you're so parched on pudding that it's making you cry?" I said to her jokingly as I wipe her tears with my hand.

"Mmm~h. No, It's just...I'm so…" she stops herself before looking at me with a smile on her face.

"...Thanks, Jared"

"Tsk, now your eyes look terrible. How can you call yourself the main character if you're not presentable?"

"Hm hm~! That's my secret! I'm always presentable"

"Really? There is never a morning that you don't have bed hair and not fix it until in the morning"

"Bed hairs are the redeeming qualities of a main character"

"In what universe?"

"My universe!" your universe is going to be full of people with a-not-so-perfect hygiene and thinks that bed hair is a fashion.

"Um, we have a problem Sis, Big Brother..." Nepgear turns to us as she stops.

"I've tried contacting Histoire, but the N-Gear keeps dropping out of range, so I can't connect to the internet..."

"Hmm..." well, I wasn't really hoping that it would either way.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked so worriedly.

"I-It'll be just fine! You worry too much. Just leave everything to your big sis!" how reassuring.

"And, let's be real here, roaming around strange new lands beating up monsters is way better than working at a boring desk!"

"I think you only feel that way because you hate working..."

"You only feel that way because you hate working, woman"

Both of us chorused.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, the only thing I hate is not having fun! Come on, let's make the most out this, little sis" Neptune reaches out towards her Little Sister's hands with her free hand.

"But..." she hesitates for a bit, and smiled at the idea.

"...I don't know if I can have fun, but I'm sure we'll be fine if we're together"

"There we go, you look cuter when you smile"

"Since all of us have cheered up. Let's enjoy the ride of exploration to an unknown land" and with that, we resume our new journey.

I just hope we don't encounter more monsters we could not handle.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"GO! GO! GO! JARED EXPRESS!"

"GOODNESS BIG BROTHER THEY'RE CATCHING UP ON US!"

"WHAT THE HELL CAN I DO!? I'M RUNNING AND THEY'RE FLYING!"

"RRRROOOOOOAAAAARRR!"

I don't think I should tell you what's happening right now.

I'm running as fast as my legs could take me. There's 7 Mishmash right now and they all want to ROAR at me and make me smell their bad breath. One was enough to knock down a horse but 7 of them all at once is enough to make it a plague.

"Nepu! You guys stink! Put some mouthwash!" Neptune complains at the monsters chasing at us.

"RRROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!"

"Nepu! Are you talking back to li'l cute me!?"

"NEPTUNE! I DON'T THINK - WHOA-LY SHIT THAT WAS CLOSE, pipe - COMPLAINING TO THEM WOULD MAKE ME STOP RUNNING!"

"But their breath stinks!"

"I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, BUT I WANT TO FOCUS ON RUNNING AWAY!"

"RRROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!"

The lilac-haired sisters are riding on my back right now as I vault over every obstacle. From cars to giant pieces of cement, to sections of the road that have either fallen or lifted up. And taking a look behind me for a brief moment, they're still right on my tail. I really wish that these two could transform right now.

"BIG BROTHE-! KYAA! MY SKIRT!"

"WHY IS IT THEY ALWAYS WANT TO SEE WHAT'S UNDER YOUR SKIRT!?" or lack thereof anyways since you actually don't have a skirt.

I suddenly turn the right and squeeze through an alley. It's a tight fit but it'll make do. I hear the MishMashes behind me follow suit from the beating of their wings. I take a quick look behind me and see that they're just staring at me between the gaps of two buildings. I take this opportunity and run faster, making my exit early, run across the street 30 degrees to the right and reentering another alley.

The beating of their wings dies down with each step I take, my instincts tell me that they've given up already and I should stop running. Exiting the alley, I stop on the middle of the road and look back to where we came from.

"Did we lose them?" Nepgear asked as she steps down.

"Yeah… It seems they can't fly as high" I make a mental note of that. It might be useful in the future after all.

"Now where are we?" I take a look around. It seems we're on an 8 lane highway, that extends on both sides, with its share of devastation sprinkled here and there as well.

"I guess we're on the main road now" I concluded.

"So are we even more lost now?" Neptune asked, not intending to come down from my back.

"Not yet at least" knowing where the main road is is is a good place to know your bearings when you're lost in an urban environment.

Following that logic, I take look to where the road stretches. One side shows the buildings getting taller and taller, or at least used to be. The other side shows the buildings getting shorter and shorter as though it's heading towards the edge of this place or rural a. So now the question becomes, where should we go?

"Alright you two, should we go over to that side or that side?" I point to both sides.

"I vote for that side!" my wife votes to where the buildings are getting taller.

"I think we should go to that side too" our little sister agrees.

Disregarding Neptune's idea as being mindless fun and adventure, which usually works mind you, we might stand more of a chance to survive and find information on what to do next if we headed deeper into the wrecked city of doom and gloom. Riding on the idea that this might be Planeptune, with over 60% confidence that it is, we might exit the city and into the open wilderness. And according to experience, Mother Nature can be a bitch sometimes with those giant Mishmashes.

"Alrighty then..." I fix my wife's position on my back, making it comfortable for the both of us. I'd rather not tell her that she did actually gained some weight.

We walk along the main road our steps telling us that we are the only souls here. The devastated city against the ominous purple sky full of malice, a setting that many people would find alarming, I find rather romantic as it's accompanied with silence. Now you might find it weird that I think like this, but if you're used to explosions booming from the distance that comes with a sight like this, then you might find the setting we're in rather pleasurable.

"We should do riddles!" maybe out of boredom, my wife screamed ruining the ambiance.

"Nope that's too early" I chop her head forehead.

"Nepu!"

After 20 more minutes of walking, we came across an obstruction on the road.

"Ooh, check this out! I wonder what happened here?" Neptune excitedly says as sparkles in her eyes glitter from excitement.

The obstruction I'm talking about is a building that fell on the road. I look to the side to where it supposedly stood, where you can clearly see a gap between the series of buildings. The surrounding buildings of that gap seem to not be affected. It's either this building's foundation gave in or someone tipped this building on purpose.

Following that, it seems the building's remains have also been flattened by something, making it climbable.

"Like a Kangaroo!" Neptune jumps off from my back and begins running excitedly towards the climbable debris.

"Hey! Let's try climbing to the top, maybe we can figure out where we are!" as though beckoning us to an adventure of a lifetime, she begins climbing the debris.

"E-Eh! Wait for us, Sis!" Nepgear, worried for the safety of her Big Sister, chases after her.

"Be careful of the glass shards, woman!" I tell her as I follow my Little Sister.

The climb towards the top is easy, it didn't take much time or effort for us to reach the top. The top is relatively flat, like some giant pressed against its hand and on it and tries to flatten it as much as it can. The moment I climbed to the top, I see the two Nep sisters running towards the edge of this flattened debris. Neptune skipping her steps, avoiding any pitfalls that she sees and Nepgear trying to catch up.

I start running as well, jumping over broken windows and landing onto beams that seem relatively strong enough to hold my weight. It didn't take long for me to catch up to Nepgear, who seems to take her time thinking whether that beam she's been staring at will hold or not. I pass her without even greeting her and jumps towards the beam she's been starting at. Landing without so much of a difficulty, she found her courage and jumps after me. Not intending to catch her, unless necessary, and she lands beside me.

"Oh, it did hold"

"Were you worried that you got heavier perchance?"

"Geez! Don't tease me about my weight Big Brother!"

After a bit of teasing, both of us run after our short-haired lilac colored girl. The horizon comes into view little by little as we run after her. Familiar buildings, yet foreign at the same time greet us the moment we see them.

"...!"

"I see..." so we really are...

Neptune comes to a halt, most likely realizing what we just realized, letting us catch up to her. We come up to her from behind, but both of us were too distracted by the sight before us. The sight of a city that we know too well, a city that we know like the backs of our hands. The similarities are uncanny that I might start to deny this reality that is presented before me.

"...This can't be…!"

"Wh-Wh-Wh-WHAT IS THIIIIIIIIIIIIIS?!"

"No way… just where… is this…?"

"It's obvious..."

Oh, here we go again...

"...we're in Planeptune"

...let's see what The World wants to tell me.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The familiar building at the distance, the building that resembles the blade to the tip of the sword. The building that houses many other towers behind the sword-like structure with its many large balconies and domes sticking out on the sides of the sword-like cover. A building that sticks out like a sore thumb even in it's wrecked state.

Looking at that building, it was enough. It was enough to convince us. Though there are many variants as seen with Plutie's version, or what we call, the Ultradimension version, yes, we're naming the different dimensions we've been through, the overall theme is the same. A symbol of advancement. A symbol, more than a building, for every Planeptunian.

"...We're in Planeptune alright" so my previous assessment was right all along. I look around, finding anything familiar during my last incident.

This place is different, the most notable thing is that I saw numbers before I woke up. But even so, I don't want to rely on that fact given the similarity between this incident and the one during my honeymoon. The destruction of this place is much worse than that closed-space that I don't know if this is the same place or not. I might even be at the same place but much further in time. Bottomline is, I don't know for certain.

"Hmmmmm…" there's only one place to find out. I'm going to need to find that basement again.

"Big Brother?"

"Hm?" Nepgear's voice snaps me from my thoughts.

"Yeah? What is it, Little Sister?" I ask her as I look.

"Um… something the matter?" she asked with concern. I guess my facial expression shows that I'm clearly disturbed about this place.

"Nothing much, I just had a momentary flashback" with a smile, I pat Nepgear's head as I answered.

"Hmmmmm… I'm not a little kid you know" she pouts. And it's not because I'm patting her head.

"I know" she probably has a good idea of how I work so I guess she knows I have something on my mind.

"...So what are we going to do now?" I look back at the scene before me.

"Oh! Look over there! I see somebody" Neptune points at something.

"Hm? Oh, there is..." wait, how was she able to see that?

Neptune points at some activity happening 4 intersections away from us. True enough, there's a person standing in the middle of it. That said person has a lot of company. About, 20 of them, and all of them towering over that person. Said company are swinging their arms at that person.

"Hm...Oh, wow, you're right… I think it's a girl…?" Nepgear squints her eyes just to get a more focused view.

"It is a girl" I think I can see a skirt fluttering about as that person moves. Or maybe it's a man that just swings that way. No judge.

"Oh, no, she's surrounded by a bunch of scary monsters!" no shit, Nepgear. There's 20 of them.

"There's no way local could fight against that many!" uh, I highly doubt that wife. I mean she's moving pretty gracefully by the looks of it. And the fact that there's 20 of them towering over and hasn't been squashed 5 seconds after proves my point.

"Let's go, Nepgear! Jared!" Neptune jumps down from the edge.

"Let's go help her, Big Brother!" Nepgear follows.

"Oh well, at least we can get info" well there's 20 of them, so I might get even more exercise from this encounter.

I jump down from the edge and catch onto a beam that is sticking out. I use the momentum to swing towards another beam below; a few meters away from me. I stick the landing, crouch down, hold the beam with both hands and swing my legs down, letting me hang on the beam. I raise my legs with a kick, making me jump and be pushed back from the momentum. Once gravity has taken over me, I catch a steel pipe below me. I then twist my body as I jump off, turning towards the wall of rubble, and wall run in a downward curve towards the ground.

"Alright..." I take a look at the girls. Hmm they're still struggling to get down.

"Nepu! Jared, I'm afraid of heights!"

"Is that so? Bye" I start to walk away.

"Don't just leave your wife up here you bully!"

"Too late I already am"

"You bully! Get back here!" and I did.

"Just jump off already or those monsters are going to eat local human number 1" shouting that, Neptune suddenly jumps off. Instinct takes over me the instant she did, I move in to catch her.

"Nepu! Ooh, nice catch"

"Yeah. And you should warn me first before actually jumping off" you're going to give me a heart attack with that. Not like it'll ever happen though.

"That's what you get for bullying me" she lightly chops me on the forehead.

"Haha. I guess it is"

After putting her down, Nepgear jumps down after a warning and I catch her just as easily as her Sister. Turning towards the road, it seems the way to get to the intersection where the girl is, is littered with monsters mindlessly doing monster stuff.

-Actually, they're not monsters like that Mish-Mash, they're robots. And they're doing robot stuff.

The robots have thin legs that support a huge upper body. They don't have a head above their shoulders but they have a red dot on their chest, which I can guess is their camera. The ends of their arms resemble a short knife.

"Goodness there seems to be teeming with them"

"Please hold down your desire to disassemble them" I plea to my Little Sister. We can't stop her, yes, even me, her Big Brother, from getting all mad-inventor mode and start scavenging parts from live robots.

"I-I'll try..." are you actually disappointed?

"Hmmmmmm… Well, let's run through this folks and beat 'em when we rescue our girl!"

"Neptune, I don't want another chase scene" I say my honest feelings.

"What chase scene? You're going to be fighting while in a chase scene!"

"Please don't say it like it's the best plan in the world"

"Well you do want an exercise, right?" oh, so that's how it is.

"Little Sister, please help make this woman see some sense that I don't want another chase scene" I turn to Nepgear.

"But Big Brother, if we don't hurry that girl might..." dear lord, we have committed a terrible sin where we made another chase scene after only 1 chapter.

"Well, it's almost the end of the chapter anyways so the reader won't have to go through it again!"

"Stop reading my mind woman"

"So what ya think, Jared? We gotta go fast and all"

"Alright fine" well, for all intents and purposes, letting her a see a dead body is the last thing she should see. A katana appears in front of me. Catching it before it starts to fall, I put strength back into my legs.

"Well since you're ready, Nep Jr and I are going to have a head start. Let's go, Nep Jr!"

"Okay! Please do your best watching our backs, Big Brother"

Neptune runs(?) while Nepgear follows behind. After reaching a few meters away from me, robots, seeing them running and ignoring them, feels offended and is now demanding attention. In other words, they've begun chasing after the two.

"Wow, they're slow" It's like they have to think if they want to lift the left foot or the right foot. Now their menacing looks have dwindled down a lot because of their comedic movements.

"Oh well, better take care of them before it's a lot to handle" or not, coz I really need the exercise. Hmmm, give me a second to think.

"Yeah, exercise is better. Living healthy is what we're harping around TV anyway" I wish I was sponsored by a tuna-in-a-can company.

With that in mind, I leisurely follow the two as more and more robots gather behind them, chasing them as fast as possible.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"Funny thing is, I'm not even bothering with the robots chasing after them"

They're so slow at chasing people that I got bored and climbed up a building just to get a good sniper's view of the situation. There are about 5 more meters between Neptune and Nepgear, and our very first human contact ever since an hour ago. Our mystery person is still alive and kicking, literally from what I can see, fighting off a bunch of those giant robots.

The girl is a fair-skinned girl with red-orange eyes and long, blood-red hair worn in pigtails located near the bottom of her head, held by hair that has been knotted. It has a few black clasps and a pink gradient nearing the bottom. She wears a very small black tube top under an opened white jacket with a bright orange, black, and white tie. She also wears a pair of pleated shorts worn with a pair of thin black suspenders, and open to reveal her orange underwear, and also black fingerless gloves over a pair of orange and black sleeves, matching socks, black shoes and a pair of black leg warmers with buttons on them.

It seems that her fight moved up from the intersection where we last spotted her and is now fighting one of the streets. Suddenly, she seems to be talking to her watch in the middle of battle. I mean, that's cool and all but she should really pay attention to what's happening.

As I get close enough to hear what she's saying on her talking wristwatch, a robot came up from behind her and raises its giant forearm knife.

"Dooooooryaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Dorya?" I have no idea what that word means.

A short lilac haired girl dashes and jumps over our red-haired girl. With a katana on hand, she swings it towards the oncoming knife; clashing at each other.

*CLASH!*

The long lilac haired girl dashes pass the red hair and swing her beam sword to the robot's knees. It cuts through the metal easily, as with any beam saber that is depicted in every form of media, making the robot lean on one side uncontrollably before tumbling over.

"Yay! We found our very first human! Hey there!" Neptune waves at the person, who looks clearly shocked at the appearance of her backup than amazed that my wife and her sister was able to take down a robot.

"I could've sworn there are were a lot more monsters before we got here… Did she defeat them all by herself!?" Nepgear looks around and sure enough, the number of lying robots concludes that statement.

"I'm just glad we finally ran into someone!" Neptune exclaims her relief.

"Hey, lady, could you tell us where we -!"

"Tsk! Reinforcements now of all times?!"

"Eh?"

Suddenly, red hair girl dashes towards my wife, as she does so she seems to be conjuring something from her red hand… Is that a megaphone!? Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. Wow. I am utterly impressed. Like, this is blowing my mind. She's going to use a megaphone as a weapon? Am I having schizophrenia right now? Is my mind playing tricks on me and showing me something that I want to see? What in gawd's name is she going to do with that megaphone? Scream people to death?

Despite my grandiose ideas, all she did is simply jump as high as she could and swings her megaphone to my wife's confused face. Neptune's arm moves to block the attack.

"...!"

*CLASH!*

"Now that's a loud collision between metals" it's a good thing Neptune's weapons don't break that easily.

"Woah! Chill out lady, I'm just trying to-!"

The moment red-haired landed on the ground. She swings her unarmed fist towards my wife's face. Neptune weaves back as she steps back.

"Heh, not half bad!"

She swings the heel of her right foot towards her from the same direction. Neptune ducks under.

"The name's Uzume Tennouboshi!" ooh, a Japanese themed name. Since we have a Japanese name, I am going to refer to her as うずめ. Since her full name, with the last name first, of course, would be written as, 天王星うずめ.

"What's yours!?" the moment her feet lands on the ground, she dashes towards her and swings her megaphone from above.

*CLASH!*

"N-Neptune! It's Neptune!"

"Nepth-Tch! You're name's hard to pronounce!" and we have another human that is linguistically incapable of saying a name of a specific human.

"I get that a lot!"

From below, うずめ swings her megaphone towards Neptune's liver. Neptune steps to the right as she swings her weapon.

*CLASH!*

Both of their weapons bounce back uncontrollably.

"Hmm… You're a lot stronger than you look. You're the perfect prelude to it!" it? As in IT? The IT from Stephen King? I don't want to get pulled into a sewer thank you very much.

"Geez! Just listen to me! We're already tired from getting sucked into that crazy vortex and I'm trying to get back!"

"Sorry, but I'm not the type to get all cozy with the enemy!" hey, enemies have feelings too. At least get to know them before you actually force them to kick the bucket.

"If you think you can fool me by pretending to be human, you've got another thing comin'!" such racism. This could be bad for the readers if she keeps talking stuff that shouldn't be talked about openly.

うずめ dashes towards my wife once more, intending to either knock her out or make her send to heaven. She swings a punch, but Neptune blocks the swing with the flat side of her katana. With a support from her other hand and bracing it the impact with her knees, she manages to keep her feet planted on the ground.

*CLASH!*

"I told you we're not enemies! Just listen to me!" Neptune, I think by now you know she doesn't want to listen to you.

"Seriously, like, I'm Number 1 on Gamidustri's Hot 100 Chart for Nicest People Ever, but I'm about to get super pissed off!" yes, there was a chart for that. And yes, I didn't vote for Neptune, I voted for Histy for objective reasons.

"Gamin-!"

And true to my wife's words, she got pissed and deflects the fist back. With うずめ's hand in the air, Neptune swings her katana by the reverse side towards うずめ's liver. うずめ places her megaphone to block.

"Rrgh..!" probably didn't expect the force of it, but she got pushed back 3 feet away.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" is what うずめ asked once her body recovered from the shock.

The pissed off Neptune and うずめ locked eyes as both them take a stance. And without waiting a second more, both of them dashes towards one another.

"Take this!"

"Chest-!"

"Stoooop!"

"Nepgear you idiot"

"!?"

*CLASH!*

"Nepu!"

As my Little Sister butted in the fight at the worst time, I'm forced to stop my enjoyment of the fight and blocked their attacks so she doesn't get a single scratch on her. I blocked Neptune's sword with my own and blocked うずめ's fist by her forearm.

"Geez, Nepgear. If you're going to butt in. Don't butt in at a time when their attacks are about to collide." I tell my Little Sister.

"A new enemy!?" うずめ having realized that there are 2 more people that need a good megaphone smack hops back to regain composure. Nepgear steps up and the tension around うずめ rises.

"Your name was Uzume, yes? Like my sister said, we have no intentions of fighting you" Nepgear starts off diplomatically.

"In fact, I'd be really happy if you could help us. So, um… Can you listen to us for a minute? We aren't going to attack you, I promise"

"Yeah, what's your problem?! Just help us, jeez!" Neptune adds.

"Big Sister, why are you picking fights with strangers!?"

"Eh… well..." having no words to answer her Little Sister's scolding she trails off.

"*Vrrrrrrrrr*..." the sound of a disembodied voices echoes around us. We all look at the source and found 5 more robots with arms as knives appearing from the alleyway, their red light on their chest maliciously stared.

"Tch! There are still few stragglers… Alright, whoever you 3 are, this is gonna have to wait until I clean this up!"

"Yeah, let's mop this up!" wow, they became friends after a fight.

"I told you please stop fighting!" Nepgear pleas.

"Alright, step right up, you ugly sacks of flesh. My name is Uzume Tennouboshi… and you're already dead!"

"That's a cool line and all, but what if I told you they're already dead?"

"What?"

* * *

 _A/N: Rom's Love Story Part II the DJ form is now available on Patre-on(link at my bio, just remove the dashes). Next month release would be a single picture with layers of narrative. Rom's Love Story Part III will be released in October!_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

"What if I told you they're already dead?"

"What?"

*Bing!* *Bing!* *Bing!* *Bing!* *Bing!*

"Also, they're not made of flesh. Your words are going to wound every robot out there"

During Neptune and うずめ's fight, I had to run around some allies slicing and killing off their power source as quiet and fast as I can. I mean, I really don't want to disturb those two. And during that time, I found out that one of the wires is connected to a fan. And we all know how electronics loves their fans. So I cut a bunch of those and after waiting for a few, shuts down and can't reboot.

And you get the idea of how I did it with these 5 that are now on their knees, lifeless.

"Wow, that was anticlimactic, we haven't had a full fight scene ever since chapter 1, you know. What's the author doing?!"

"He is probably thinking that these fights are insignificant"

"But we always have insignificant fights!"

"Please stop asking for more fights, Big Sis..." Nepgear pleas once more.

"So do you believe us now that we don't really intend to fight you?" I ask うずめ.

うずめ scratches her head and looks around for a bit. She is probably looking for more robots around. Too bad for her, they're out of commission. After a bit of more scratching on her head, which tells me she's conflicted about something, she turns towards us and said:

"...I guess I'll thank you for now, but… just be honest with me… you're not its underlings, are you?"

"Neptune, have we been hired by someone recently?"

"Nope!"

"I'm not sure what 'it' is, but like I said before, we aren't here to fight. We're just looking for help" Nepgear adds.

"I can't believe it..." うずめ sighed in relief.

"I've been telling you since the beginning!"

"No… I know, I didn't mean it like that, it's just… I can't remember that last time I've seen people..." hm, now that sentence strikes me as odd.

"It was wrong of me to attack you the way I did. Please, forgive me" and in true to her Japanese themed name, she bows down feet together might I add.

"Finally...I'm just glad you believe us"

"Oh, it's all good. I'm just relieved to know there are other people roaming around these parts!" Nepgear and Neptune exclaim their relief.

"Well, I'm actually the only..." she trails off.

"That aside, if you're not its underlings, who the hell are you guys?"

"Hmmmmm… what to say… we're all lost..." Neptune said as though she had just come to the conclusion now.

"We suddenly found ourselves in this city… We were looking around to see if there was anyone else, and we finally found you" Nepgear gave a full explanation.

"Lost…? You mean there are others who failed to escape and are surviving in other cities?"

"Failed to escape? From what?"

"Surviving...?"

And just I was about to think that this is an interesting development, it became even more interesting when my instincts are all kicking and screaming.

"We're about to find out what that 'it' is" I said as I look at the direction of Planeptower.

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

"Nepu! W-What's happening!?"

The ground shakes, an earthquake erupts. The rubbles and debris grind at each other in a low growl. As though they are dogs glaring at the imminent threat that they cannot overcome. All the hairs on my skin stand up to the ends. My instincts scream… It's almost here.

*BANG!*

Something in the air just broke the speed barrier. Judging from the sheer volume that the sound carried, it's a very big object.

"...Finally, it's arrived..." うずめ said, almost confident. Almost smiling.

*BOOOOOOOM!*

*SQZZZZZZZZZZZ!*

"...!" I grab onto Neptune and Nepgear.

"Nepu!"

"Goodness!"

Something came down from the sky and landed on the ground. The impact of the landing sends ripples almost enough to bend the earth in waves. I brace the impact with my knees, the rush of the wall of air is almost as though Mike Tyson punched me in the gut. Heat comes along with it, the sheer volume from the dispensing feels as though I was cooking in a Chinese kitchen with a jet engine like flames fuming out of the stove.

In the distance, something huge rises up. Bigger than the rest of the buildings that are surrounding us. The same height as Planeptower. Something humanoid in looks with 2 sets of wings, 2 extending up and 2 extending downwards, and with steel as its feathers. A giant purple thing stands majestically in front of its subjects.

Three things stand out, the giant thing is purple or pinkish in color scheme, it's big, and it has three spots that are color brightly colored red, the forehead, the visor on its eyes, and the chest. Its hair extends all the way down to its feet. It has 2 sets of horns 2 extending to the pointing to the back of its head at a 75-degree angle, and 2 extending to the sides of its face. 2 giant red power-sign insignias are placed on its forehead and chest. The chest part is just above its cleavage. Its arms have a napkin ring just above her elbow. Its elbows are mechanical with its forearm being a guard with an elbow cover. Its fingers are pointed with red tips, and its elbows are releasing something that I do not know. Its footwear seems to be very thick high heels. Its thighs covered in armor. And whatever skin it exposes, are pale in a purple hue.

"W-W-W-W-W-What is that huge thing!?" Neptune asked, shocked like any normal person would.

"Is the last boss already appearing?! We didn't get blown to the end of the fic or something did we!? What's the author thinking, putting the last boss in chapter 9!?"

"I don't know who or what that thing is either… But it's the one responsible for turning this city and the entire world into a wasteland..." no shit, うずめ.

"Is this the one that's behind all the cracks and rifts that we've seen everywhere?"

"That's right. And it doesn't just destroy cities; it destroys the earth and the sky as well"

"Don't tell me… You're going to try and fight that!?" Nepgear asked.

"That's exactly right. I've been fighting with it for a long time" the madwoman says as she walks forward, readying herself.

"That's impossible to fight something that big! Please, Big Sis, tell her to back down!"

"Alrighty! Now I'm getting all fired up too!"

"...Eh?"

"Our opponent's bigger than a skyscraper? That's perfect! In fact, bring it on!" Neptune follows with glee.

"Big Sis!?"

"I'm Neptune! There's no way I'll lose to that, Nep Jr!"

"Big Brother! Help me! They're going to fi-! Oh, not you too!"

"I've never seen Jared having a smile like that before!"

It seems my facial expression shows. I'm smiling alright. Smiling at the fact we're about to fight something that can literally tear apart heaven and earth. Just imagine all the workout that I've been yearning for and is now right in front of me.

"You see Nepgear, sometimes, you need to live healthily" I follow my wife.

"Big Brother that's not how you live healthily!"

"I appreciate the gesture. But this fight is mine" うずめ said.

"It's useless to try and stop me. I staunchly refuse to listen to people all the time. I do what I want, and I want to help!"

"And I want a workout. That thing will give me a real sweat"

"Please be reasonable, you three! If you think about sensibly, there's no way you could win against something that gigantic!" Nepgear protests at our decision.

"Sorry to interject, but as a CPU, it's my sworn duty to deliver justice upon the one responsible for ruining this city!" うずめ as she faces us with stern conviction on her eyes and fist ready to fly at its target.

"Nepu! Hang on a sec! Did you just say you're a CPU?!" wow, this is an interesting development. No wonder she's confident.

"Oh yeah, I guess I hadn't mentioned that yet. Well, that doesn't really matter right now" I agree.

"This place is about to become a battlefield. If you're not prepared to get your hands dirty then run" うずめ warns us. My hands are already dirty thank you very much.

"Then, let's get out of here together. I'm sure we can devise a strategy to defeat it that doesn't involve battling it head-on, so-"

"No can do. A pack of monsters like those guys are advancing along with that giant"

"I gotta stop 'em here, no matter what. I need to create a window for the others to escape"

"That giant thing looks terrible enough, but a pack of monsters, too…?"

"Olright! With courage like that, I'm even more pumped to help ya out!"

"Wow… a pack of monsters, plus that thing. Am I in workout heaven?"

"You guys aren't ready for a fight like this, and you're just gonna hold me back. Like I said, just hurry up and get outta here already!"

"I don't wanna!"

"Run away!"

"No I won't! If we ran away now, who's gonna help you out!?"

"?!" oh, I think my wife's words just hit the spot.

"Besides, even if we really can't hold our own, we can at least buy you some more time" what a wonderful and reasonable suggestion Neptune.

"Big sis..."

"If… If you're going to fight. Then I'll fight too!" Nepgear joins in on the fray.

"Aaaaaaaah! Fine! I get it!" frustratingly, うずめ gave up on convincing us to run away.

"You three are so dense…!" how rude, I'm not dense.

"Fine then. Listen, if we're gonna be fighting this thing together, then know this: we fight to win"

"Of course! But I don't think Jared here thinks that way"

"Hey, don't call me out. Winning is just the side effect of a good workout"

"Then, at the very least, why don't we find a place where we can heal your wounds?" Nepgear suggests.

"From the looks of things, that giant won't head here immediately- we have some time. It's better to challenge it when we're at our best"

"You're right. My base is close by, so let's there"

With that, we followed うずめ to her secret base.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

"Now that I think about it you two haven't introduced yourselves to our new friend"

"...?"

"Oh, you're right"

As we're following うずめ towards her base, the three of us have been silently observing our surroundings before my wife broke said silence. Well she does have a point. Nepgear hasn't introduced herself yet and I haven't either.

"Well, all of us were in the heat of the moment, so we didn't get to properly introduce ourselves" うずめ said.

"And since we've all decided to help Uzume out, a proper introduction should be in place!" Neptune said.

"Maybe we should all stand in front as we introduce ourselves classroom style" I suggested and pointed towards a wall shined by a street light.

"Well, we're near to my base anyway so why don't we do it indoors?" うずめ adds.

"No can do, introductions first, events second! How can the readers know who this person is!"

"I think the readers know who we are now without introductions"

"You just really do whatever you want huh..." うずめ comments.

"You'll get used to it" I said.

"Okay! Nep Jr. is up first!"

"Me? Can't we put Big Brother first?"

"I think there's a saying to respect your elders' wishes"

"Gh. Fine I'll go first..." dejectedly, Nepgear walks up in the spotlight and stand perfectly still.

"Ahem... Nice to meet you I'm Nepgear, Neptune's and Big Brother's Little Sister. It's nice to meet you Uzume"

*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*

"Okay! Up next is Jared!"

"Right…" I'll probably just say the usual. I walk up the stage as my Little Sister leaves.

"Ahem. I'm just a passerby called Jared"

"Boo! What a boring introduction"

"Why don't you get up here and introduce yourself then?"

"I'll show you how number one my introduction is" Neptune comes into the limelight as I leave.

"Hello my name is Nep-"

"Okay then, where should we go again Uzume?" I ask うずめ urging her to lead us to her base.

"Oh, it's just around this corner..." she guides.

"Nepu! listen to me!"

"If you don't hurry you won't catch up"

"Nepu!"

After turning the corner, we proceed to continue following うずめ. Despite our walk being slightly silent, with Neptune and うずめ chatting away at random things, in the background we can clearly hear explosions and rumbles echoing from somewhere. It's like the familiar sounds of war, coupled with some shaking in the earth. In the distance, I think I can hear a scream. A scream more akin to a wild animal.

"It seems it's getting more and more lively"

"Yeah..." Nepgear nodded.

After a few more buildings, we're now faced with a building that is relatively intact.

"I can see why this would be your base" I mumble to myself.

"Well here we are"

"Oooh!"

"Aaah!" these two girls have sparkles in their eyes. And they're glittering too.

"Don't get too excited, the inside isn't really all that great compared to the outside"

"Then lead us in! Lead us in!" Neptune excitedly urges our red-haired girl.

She leads us in as per my wife's request. The inside of the building is really barren and plain. With the only notable things are the foundations and a single staircase leading to the second floor. We walk up the stairs to the second floor and we are greeted with...

"Here we are. This is my base" うずめ grandiosely gestured.

"Although, I guess it's more of a tent in an abandoned building than a base; but it's better than being out in the open"

We're greeted with a room full of things. At the end of the room is a terrace that shows us the view of the outside. Showing us the view of Planeptower even though we're on the second story. There's a counter in the middle of the room, with some plates and mugs on it, as well as a radio. On the far right corner is a bed with some medical supplies lying around beside it. In the other corner, the far left, are some mess kit and a portable cooking stove. Above us are some fluorescent bulbs illuminating the area, hanging by the very wires that are powering it.

From the looks of this room, this seems to be once an office of sorts. Most probably a reception area, evident by the fact that there are some doorways here such as the ones directly on our left and right.

"This is very nice if I do say so myself" if I was still in the military, having a bed to sleep on during an operation is heaven. Otherwise, we'd sleep on the floor.

"Oooooh! Using a dingy, old building like this as your secret base is so freakin' cool!" Neptune looks around as though we're in a museum of sorts.

"Yeah! And you have everything you need here: a safe place to sleep, food, recovery items, and even a communication terminal!" my Little Sister adds.

"It's just like a rebel hideout from an anime!" where's the banner that says, "New Peoples Republic!"?

"What!? You guys actually understand how wicked cool this base is?!" うずめ asked as though someone finally understands her.

"Yup!" the sisters agree.

"I see I see. If you three get how cool this place is, then, you can't be all that bad!" I am seriously questioning your standards of people right now.

"Well, let's all rest up a bit while I explain to you guys what we're up against. Feel free to be at home"

"Oh, can I borrow your mess kit for awhile? We'd like to get some water if you don't mind" Nepgear asked.

"Mhm! The tap water here is pretty clean so feel free to drink as much as you can" with that, Nepgear proceeds to the mess kit on the left side of the room.

"Now then, let's give you a quick rundown of the enemy" うずめ starts explaining.

"Like I said before, that giant thing's the main culprit behind all the destruction you've seen" no shit.

"But its size isn't the only thing you should be worried about. That monster also holds the power to erase life forms out of their existence" okay, now that's pretty overpowered.

"It's the reason why all the humans who lived in this nation are no longer with us"

"Eeeeeeeh!? They're all just gone?"

"I-I see… that's why our share energy..." Nepgear returns holding 4 cups of water. She distributes it to all of us.

"I don't wanna believe it. How does that even make sense? Did they all really disappear because of that big giant thing?" Neptune asks.

"It's hard to say. I don't know much about everything that's happened myself" うずめ answered honestly before taking a drink.

"After the humans left, lots of intelligent creatures move into the area. They're very kind, and some are even able to talk"

"*cough!*" I choked on my drink. Did I just hear that right? Intelligent talking creatures? Talking creatures? This is going to be a thesis of a lifetime! My dream of getting a Ph.D. at Harvard is going to come true now!

"So, our objective in this current mission is to buy enough time for all of them to safely evacuate the city"

"Teacher! I have a question. Aren't any of the monsters fit to be your allies?" Neptune asks.

"Unfortunately, we're the only ones who can fight" well, my other dream of commanding a horde of monsters went flying out of the window.

"Yikes! It's amazing you've been able to fight all by yourself all this time" Neptune comments.

"Yeah, I'm amazing I'm still kicking. We're always being chased by that thing… It feels like all we know how to do anymore is run for our lives" well you are facing by a giant robot.

"I'm terrified when I wake to the sounds of its footsteps shaking the ground. What's worse is that we're running out of places to escape to..." Planeptune is a big place, there's plenty of good hiding spots.

"Do you think there's any way to defeat that giant?" Nepgear asked.

"That's right! We can just destroy it! You won't have to keep running, anymore!"

"Hey, come on, don't you think I've tried? I've scuffled with that thing so many times, and have never even come close to injuring it..." well you are facing a giant humanoid robot. To that thing, you're an ant.

"No way..." Nepgear disheartenedly mumbles.

"Don't make that face. Even if it's impossible now, I've been coming up with a plan to defeat it. It's just not ready yet" then say so earlier. Team morale is important you know.

"Alright, so we don't have a lot of time before-!"

*BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!*

"Hm?" an electronic ringing noise goes off. I look around and found that the noise is coming from うずめ's watch. She presses a button on her watch and moves it close to her mouth.

"It's me. What's the status on the evacuation?"

" _Uzume, I am relieved to hear your voice. We're roughly 70% complete with evacuation_ " a deep, calm voice exits from the speaker. And yes, it's a guy.

"Still a lot left, huh…?"

" _I apologize, we're moving as fast as we can_ "

"Don't sweat it. Just make sure everyone gets outta there safely" うずめ relieves the caller.

" _Understood. Be careful out there, Uzume_ "

*BEEP!*

"Hey, who's that? He sounds handsome. Is he a friend?" my wife asked as soon as the call ends.

"Yeah, he is. He can get a little cranky sometimes" I don't think we need to know that.

"So, you guys understand what we need to do?" うずめ asked.

"Question: how many is 30%?" I ask.

"I think it's about 10,000 or something around that range…" that is still a lot huh. Even evacuating 10,000 - 20,000 humans safely that is about to be nuked is a tough call.

"That's a tall order" I muttered under my breath.

"Oh well, not like there's any bigger fish to catch"

"You only say that because small monsters bore you now, Big Brother" now my little has activated her mind-reading powers.

"We'd better get going soon, though...If you guys are ready, make sure not to leave anything behind. We won't be coming back for a while"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"And we're back" I said as we follow うずめ to a checkpoint she mentioned.

We only had about an hour of rest and recreation. It's surprising I know, I mean we're about to face what seems like the final boss and we only about an hour of rest. Veteran's would say that 8 hours of rest is still not enough. What's even more surprising is that the final boss hasn't made a move since. You would think that a being that can erase existence itself would erase our existence within that hour. Even molecules are no match for it.

"What a second…" I suddenly thought.

""What if we harness that power to solve our mold problems?"

"What are you thinking Big Brother?"

"A way to eradicate our molds in our bathhouse"

"Aren't we already doing that?"

"We are? Curse modern technology"

As we make our way, I noticed that the street is eerily quiet. There aren't any monsters growling in the background. They probably ran since the appearance of an alpha giant robot predator, for fear of being erased from existence. I share some sentiment to them, they're also living things trying to live and survive. Basic biology.

"Alright we're here" Uzume says as she turns towards us.

"Ooh, what a dingy looking wall. It has spikes made of wood and everything" my wife comments.

"All the effort I've put through really paid off when I found out it works so well"

"By yourself? That's amazing Uzume" Nepgear praised.

It's one of those barricades yo see when you watch a retelling of history types of movies. There are literal logs standing majestically, covering the other side. Its spikes are pointing straight up into the sky. There are also some logs with pointing at an angle from the ground. Serving both as a deterrent from would be climbers and support for the wall. It's pretty impressive to have done it alone. It probably took her 2 months to get it standing like this.

"Alright, what's the gameplan?" Neptune asked.

"So, basically, a horde of monsters will approach the city before the giant does… we gotta get rid of the horde first" she explains.

"Question, does this road lead to the evacuation site?" I mean if you're going to make a fortress it means that you're protecting something.

"Well, not directly. This road leads to our supply of food that's also being evacuated. We decided to move them out in a different route if for some reason they caught on with the smell of it" that's well thought out. If our creative-creatures caught the smell, it's bad news for the remaining survivors of talking monsters.

"Okay. So, all we gotta do is defeat any monsters that come here, right? Sounds simple enough"

"Right on, I'm countin' on ya. Nepsy"

"Nepsy!?"

"Nepth… Nep-whatever's too hard to pronounce. You're Nepsy, now" such authority over one's pronunciation of their name. Am I the only one here that can make the \tün\ sound here?

"And there it is, the usual and expected pattern of people I've just met being unable to pronounce my name..." it's probably because your name is too far off to be read. Get it? I made a space joke… Coz Neptune is a planet and it's really far… I'll stop now…

"...but it's totally fresh and adorable nickname, so I'm pumped!"

"By the way, you'll be Gearsy and Jarsy." Jarsy!?

"Gearsy?!" don't copy me, little Sister.

"Well you can't be both called Nepsy, right? And Jared is Jarsy already, so you'll be Geasy"

"...Gearsy, Gearsy, huh…? Hehe, this might be the first time I've been given such a cute nickname..."

"Good for you Little Sister"

"Welcome to the club, Nepgear"

"Thank you for having me" Nepgear plays along with this Welcome to the Club act.

"Well, if everyone is satisfied with their nicknames, all we have to do is wait for them"

"Wait? Wow, that giant-robot thing has a lot of time in its hands" hell, I can't even see it from here.

"Maybe it's one of those final bosses that doesn't care about us puny humans and then we'll suddenly sucker punch from under their noses"

"Underdog stories are the best"

"Then, there was this comic that I read from long long ago. I think it's about cooking some pastries I think..."

"Oh, I know that one, though I didn't exactly finish it" Nepgear said her disappointment. She obviously enjoyed it

"Why aren't you finishing it now though?" I asked.

"Well… I've been working and all so..."

"Don't tell me that Neptune has been..."

"Oh, it's nothing like that Big Brother. I just had so many projects to complete that's all… like..."

"Stop! If she suddenly starts talking about her 'projects' it won't end!"

"Oh crap, you're right" my wife's right.

"Why stop her? I'm sure she's about to say some pretty cool projects"

"Uzume, our 3 hours and counting friend, think of it like this, it's like a boulder coming down a mountain, and you're trying to stop it with a sti - OW!" dammit, who hit me?

"Geez, that's what you get for calling me a blabber, Big Brother"

"Ohoho, so far there's only one person, I guess 2 more counting Iffy and Compa, that's ever hit me and lived to tell the tale" this girl got some balls to hit me.

"Oh, Nepgear finally hits Jared huh… Who should I cheer on though?"

"What's with you guys?" うずめ asked in dumbfoundedness of our random conversations.

"Hm? Yeah, sorry. You must have felt out of place. It's just our usual banter when to relieve the stress of everyday grind"

"Mhm, I sometimes get into the flow of things. Don't think too hard about it" Nepgear supports.

"I'm not too bothered. In fact, it's like I'm enjoying a great show" うずめ said. A show, eh?

"Well, stick around since we have so many shows to show. Since I'm the mai-"

"Neptune being the straight man always gets us viewer counts" I said.

"-n. Nepu!?"

"Ask your little Sister"

"Is that true!?"

"Mhm, well, I did consult it with Kei and..."

"Nepu!? So people don't really see me as the main protagonist!?"

"Not really, they found you, what's the word, pleasing to watch. In fact, you're more like a comic relief than anything"

"I-I became a side character just for gags and giggles!" Neptune despairs.

"You should be proud, my dear wife. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten that ad revenue from doing our Nepstation every single day"

"R-really?"

"Ask your little Sister"

"It's true Sis, we wouldn't have gotten this far without you and I wouldn't have been able to check off some of my items in my bucket list"

"You have a bucket list?" Neptune and I asked at the same time.

"Hm? You didn't know. But I always have a notepad with me..."

"Really?" I mean, why would you need a bucket list. You don't age. I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to enjoy all that life could offer without the fear of missing out.

"Can I see, can I see?"

"It's a little embarrassing but okay"

Nepgear always had a small leg bag on her right thigh, she reaches to it and opens it with one hand. Puts her hand in, rummage inside it as though looking for something and then pulling out a small notebook. I swear to god I need to know how to do that.

"Hmmmm… Oh, it's here."

"Lemme see!"

With Neptune's giggly excitement, we take a look at the contents of the notebook.

"..."

"..."

This… is… utterly… like Nepgear. I mean, I don't have to explain to you guys what's written on her notebook right? You know Nepgear. You know personality and quirks. No need for me to reiterate what those are right?

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*

"Nepu?"

The ground rumbles, like the growl of the king of the jungle as it shows its dominance. My instincts naturally flare up, counting the horde that we need to face. To be honest, I can already tell that they're small fries, but since I've already agreed to this, I really have no choice. Or maybe I could do some very, very low effort fighting and relay most of the wave to them.

"I wish that giant thing would come out already..." I really do. I need to work out.

"You could use them as warm up" my wife said. As a katana appears before me, I catch it before it starts to fall.

"Stop reading my mind, well, it is dangerous not to do warm-ups" in fact there has been a number of cases where people that do workouts injure themselves from not warming up. So remember kids, even if warmups looks so boring to do, please do them. It would save you the thousands of dollars of hospitalization fees.

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

"Well then, looks like the first wave is approaching. C'mon, you three, let's get fired up!"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

*ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

"...!"

"Above!?" うずめ said, seeing a giant mishmash piercing its giant body through the air towards us.

"Great… I haven't even recovered from their bad breath..." the smell just imprints in your head. That's how bad it is.

"Haa!" Nepgear throws her beam saber at the mishmash's wings with little effort.

The beam saber cuts through the air, reaching the beating wings of the mishmash. The beam saber didn't exactly do anything, the beating wings did all the work cutting itself up into uncountable pieces, turning mishmash's downward flight into free fall.

*ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

The mishmash spins out of control from its remaining wings still beating the air.

*BOOM!*

The thing hits the rough, cracked ground face first. I'd laugh at how stupid its face landing is, but then it suddenly pops back up, torso down, and is crawling its way towards us with burning revenge in its eyes.

*ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

"Great job, Little Sister!" I sarcastically blame my Little Sister.

"I didn't think this would happen!"

"I'm stopping it!" before I could even execute a plan, うずめ steps up front and points her megaphone towards it.

"Don't tell she-!" she takes a deep breath and...

*RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*

"...!" holy shit that's loud! Even though I'm covering my ears, if I wasn't behind her, my eardrums are going to pop. They're ringing from being suddenly exposed to ultra loud decibels.

"Nepu, nepu, nepu, nepu!"

Despite our ear's terrible predicament, mishmash hear has it worst. It stopped in its tracks resisting the pain that is probably coming from its ears. うずめ's scream comes to a halt, the moment it does, Neptune and I lunge forward.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAR-!*

Roaring to shake away the feeling, Neptune and I duck as we got close to it. Positioning our swords low, and in one large step, we swing our weapons upward.

*CLASH!*

It's face faced the sky as though it's been punched by an uppercut. Neptune jumps, as high as she can, as I step back and take another stance with the sword pointing towards it.

*CLASH!*

*BAM!*

She swings her sword on its head, pushing it down. The moment it's chin lands on the ground with a loud *BAM*. I dash in as I thrust the sword forward through its nose.

"Oh shit, that smells..." the moment I pry away some skin, incomprehensible shitty turd-like smell enters my nostrils and interpreted by my brain. The smell is so bad, that I pull the sword out and hop away from it.

"Nepu! My nose! It feels like it's bleeding!" Neptune, upon landing, runs away.

"Gh~! I didn't think they'd smell this bad" うずめ said, covering her nose.

"At least we killed it" my Little Sister added, who is also holding her nose.

"And we're not done yet" instincts are warming me again.

*AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*

"Wolves...?" うずめ said.

"Nepu! We're surrounded!"

"When did they...!"

"Oh, my gawd..." I can't believe this. I absolutely can't.

They're not just ordinary wolves mind you, oh no no. It is a gray wolf that once inhabited the coastal north-east Asia. Where it's nearest relatives were the wolves of North America rather than Asia. A formidable beast and yet not dangerous to man. A deity to the Ainu's known as Horkew Kamuy or the Howling God. The wolves that, under the rule of Emperor Meiji, were extinct.

" _Canis lupus hattai_..." the last I heard of them was from a merchant that was selling off fresh skin of his hunt, and that was in 1920.

"And now we have a whole pack of wolves surrounding us"

"When did they get over the barrier?" うずめ asked, feeling frustrated.

"They probably went around it"

"..."

"Well, don't feel disappointed, these _Canis_ are smarter than your run off the mill wolves"

*GRRRRRRRRRR!*

*BAM!* *BAM!*

"Now what!?" Nepgear said as she looks at the wooden barrier.

No words would express it more, it's being hit something and it wants it taken down ASAP. Being surrounded and under a time limit. So that's the setup these monsters are going for.

"Well then, what to do..." I overclock my brain. I can't just be too rash about this. We've got a human here that can scream like a death metal singer here after all. And also, she might not like my crazy ideas.

"Hmmm… Hey, Uzume, it's alright as long as we protect this street right?"

"Mhm..." okay, then that would mean we can…

*BAM!* *BAM!*

"GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!"

"Nepu!"

*CLASH!*

Neptune blocked the Hokkaido Wolf's fangs from reaching her. It gnaws at the metal sword intending to break it with its teeth. Neptune raises the wolf in the air and smashes it down to the ground like that one wrestler where the name of that wrestler's special move has "bomb" in it.

She swings her sword in an uppercut, cutting the wolf's head in the process, as another wolf reaches for her. During the motion, she cuts the wolves paws, steps forward with her forward foot and swings her weapon like a bat, cutting the wolf in half.

"How brutal..." I comment as I lunge forward to the pack.

2 wolves come at me at the same time, trying to divide my priority. Wolves are more or less packed creatures. They're able to work alone efficiently and work together efficiently as well. And yes, they're smarter because of their hunting nature.

I lean back, as they both jumped at me, and swing the sword horizontally cutting both of their chests. I grab one by the neck as I rise and throw it like a pitcher throwing the straight ball at the rest of the pack. 3 wolves avoided it and rush towards me. 1 of them rushes at me dead center while the other 2 circles towards my sides.

The dead center wolf jumps at me, I take a step to the side with one foot and the other as pivot, and cut his head down. I duck down as both wolves on my sides jump at me, letting them pass overhead. I then sweep my surrounding area with my weapon cutting both of their feet in the process.

2 more wolves come at me, thinking that it's the best opportunity to attack after a 360 sweep. I jump back a tad and dash forward the moment I land. I make a roundhouse slash at them, cutting by their mouths. Still, in the moment of the swing, I kick the wolves away with my back leg and landing it to my right, making me turn my back to them. 4 wolves at me during that time. Geez, do they not understand that trying to one-up me by sneak attacking my "potential" blind spot isn't working?

"Well, that's natural selection for you…" cull the idiots and save the smart ones. Makes every life more interesting in the future.

I jump back, towards the direction where they jumped from. They tried to get their fangs at me as they pass me; the moment my back foot landed, I thrust the sword at one of the wolf's eye. I use it as a meat shield for another wolf's bite attack. I pull meat shield as I pull the sword out of its eyeball. I reverse the hold on the sword and stab the wolf that is still chewing onto the meat.

*GRRROOOOOOO!*

The 3rd wolf comes at me, I let go of the sword and grabs its head. I twist it until it twists in a bizarre ungodly manner.

"...!"

"...?" Well, the fourth one isn't attacking me and is just growling at me. I'd rather not use my 'eyes' on this puppy. He realized how he is no match for me but is just glaring at me. I do commend its soldier like tenacity.

"Boo..."

*Woof!* *Woof!*

"And it ran away..." it's probably going to retrain its fangs.

"Now then, how things going for the rest..."

"Ooraa!" wow, うずめ just punched a wolf's stomach.

"Nepsy!"

"Got it!"

"Home run!"

"Haa!" Neptune swings her sword like a bat again and swings it at the wolf that うずめ just punched.

"And that's game! And the crowd goes wild!"

"Woooooo! We won! We won!" Neptune runs up to me as though she had won an internal conflict with herself while also winning an international game that would decide her career.

*BAM!*

"Tsk! They've broken through!"

True to うずめ remark, her wooden barrier that she made has now been toppled over, and a bunch of angry monsters with what seems like rabies are now flooding towards us.

"We've got no choice but to fight through them, eh?" such bravery that is burning in うずめ's eyes.

"Bring it o-"

*BAM!*

"-n? Eh?"

"Whew… It's a good thing those wolves didn't chase after me"

"Good job Nep Jr.!"

To keep the explanation short, a building just fell down right in front of うずめ. Well, everyone knew that the wooden barrier of hers isn't going to last long, I figured something more 'concrete'. And thus, using my Little Sister's beam saber, she cuts down the foundations of the adjacent building on one side, collapsing it as on the unfortunate monsters that were coming through.

"Big Brother's plans are always heart thumping"

"Makes you more alive" I remark

"I don't know how you guys thought of that, but thanks" うずめ said.

"...I think we've taken care of all the monsters in the area, huh?" Neptune said.

"No, we've only endured the first wave. Here comes the second!"

*GRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAR!*


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

A thing appeared.

A four-legged creature that resembles that of a dragon without wings. Dark brown scales with glowing orange tips on the spikes. It has 3 of those overgrown spikes on its chest. 2 horns on that bent forward from the side of its head and overgrown nails on its claws. It's serpent eyes stare down at us, as we see the flames within its mouth, through the gaps of the teeth, rages.

"Wow… now, this guy got the menacing part in spades" at least we got some variety working on here.

"It's larger than the ones we've fought"

"...or ran away" I added my little sister's comment.

"...Ha. Of course, you would be here" うずめ said as though welcoming an old friend.

"Wha…? Uzume, are you… acquainted… with this monster…?" Neptune asked.

"...Acquainted...Heh, we've faced each other so many times, we're practically a pair of rotten best friends" that is some way to make a friend out of an enemy.

"Whenever I have an opportunity to challenge the giant, this asshole just loves to get in the way. I can't count how many times he's stopped me" うずめ steps forward, locking eyes on the feind.

"Grrrrrrrrr..." the mishmash growls at her. As though remembering an old friend. Like saying to her: 'So it's you… redhead'.

"No no no, it has to be a lot more serious and darky looking"

"Stop reading my mind woman… You do know I can't bend a spoon well"

"Hm? But everyone can bend a spoon just by looking"

"Oh dear..." I'm being left out.

"Hey, you mutt! This ends today! Right here…!" うずめ reaches towards her pocket and pulls an object that seems like a crystal of sorts.

"Right now!" oh? That's a…

"...S-Share crystal?" it seems so, Nepgear.

"Today, this is going to end differently, because I brought some friends with me who'd love to see you meet your end… along with that stupid giant!" うずめ raises the crystal above her, as though holding a banner of victory. The rock of victory in this case. And without wasting any more time...

"Share crystal! TRANSFORM!" ...she glows until her entirety is covered in a bright light.

The outline of her form changes, rainbow-like sparkles cover her entire being. I can see from the corner of my eye small glitters of kaleidoscopic colors floats towards. Making her really, really bright that I have to protect my eyes with my hand.

And just as quickly as it came, her light disappeared, showing her transformation.

" 'Transformation complete~!' "

Her red hair but it becomes light orange and at the base, is looped in a loose circle, resembling a ribbon, while the rest of the hair runs loose. The hair surrounding her face elongates and her eyes become light blue. She gains a white-themed, with only a blouse for her top. It shows her chest covered in blue cloth and her groin covered in orange. On her left forearm seems to be a shield of sorts. Oh, and she also has a megaphone.

"W-Who are youuuuuuuuuuu!?" the Nep Sisters chorused their shock and question.

" 'Aww, so rude of you girls, asking who I am. It's me, Uzume! U-zu-me' " yes and I read it as うずめ.

"I see. Transforming does change a personality..."

I've observed this before, but it really does. I mean, look at my wife, she turns into a mature woman in the blink of an eye. And look at Plutie, she turns into a dominatrix in also a blink of an eye. And the case of うずめ, If I somehow transformed, my personality might change right? Now the next question is, what would my personality be like?

"The questions that keep me up at night..."

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARR!*

The wingless dragon roars, the fires in its mouth seeps out from between the teeth. Even from this distance of 10 meters, you can feel the heat. It's serpent eyes looks at each and every one of us.

" 'Unya, looks like this one ready to go, Let's do our best together, you three!' "

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARR!*

It spreads it's legs as it raises its head. It as it comes down, it opens its head mouth and released a fire breath that could rival 10 flamethrowers being fired at the same time. Neptune and I dodge on one side, letting the flames hit the open air. Without wasting time, both of lunge towards the wingless dragon

The dragon sees our advance and directs the flames towards us.

"...! Neptune!" calling out to my wife, she hides in one of the buildings for cover. There's a gap about a foot in height between the ground the flames, I put a brake on my run and jump backward, letting my back hit the ground and lay down as low as possible.

" 'Oooora!' "

*BAM!*

From the wingless dragon's right, うずめ uppercuts its jaw, interrupting its flames. The dragon moved to the left side as it turns its head.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Nepgear comes flying from above, her beam sword raised.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

The dragon roars with all its might. A roar so thick that it carries the air with it. Nepgear and うずめ were pushed away from it. The latter caught the former as she falls.

I get up and dash towards the wingless dragon. It catches my running; it faces me as it backs away. The wingless dragon rises upright, raises its right claw, and swipes it me as it steps forward.

"...!"

*SWOOSH!*

I roll forward, dodging the attack. I rise after…!

*SWOOSH!*

"Shit…!"

Instinct instantly pulls my body backward as something comes sweeping the air. Once it passed over me, I look around for a bit before finding the wingless dragon 5 meters behind me.

"Damn this thing is experienced..." the swipe it did functions as a bait as well. If the swipe missed, it steps forward a little bit more and followed it up with its tail. I've faced dragons before but never this experienced. Not all dragons can do that follow up, mostly, they fight purely with wild instincts taking the charge.

' _...But I'm willing to bet it hasn't experienced being surrounded before_ '

"You okay, Big Brother?" Nepgear comes up to me.

"Not really… I feel like I'm missing some eyebrows"

"Don't worry, they're still there"

"Really? I'll tickle you if I found out you're kidding me"

"..." what's with the silence little sister?

*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

The wingless dragon, as though showing it's frustration at our banter, fires three fireballs at us. Nepgear and I split up dodging the first fireball aimed at us. We both stop on our tracks in the nick of time as the other 2 fireballs hit the ground where we were supposed to stop.

*ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

It launches another fire breath at us again, this time bigger than the last.

" 'Leave that to me!' "

うずめ flies forward pass us and raises her megaphone.

" 'UUUUUUUNNNYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!' "

Her shout rings in my ears as waves of air blows in a hurricane-like violence. Jaysus Christ, how much vocal power that girl has? A shout so powerful that it carries the air with it, sweeping up the rubbles on the road, stopping the flames from going any further.

A battle of roars.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

The dragon steps forward, despite the pressure. It keeps its fire breath aimed and focused. Debris hits the dragon, but it's flames are unaltered.

" 'YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!' "

うずめ keeps up with her own roar. Keeping up the pressure.

"Nepgear!"

"Right!"

"...Uzume!"

" 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-but?-AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!' "

"Just do it!" and I'm quite worried about your larynx.

" 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…..' "

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

The dragon's roars in triumph as it suddenly feels the pressure coming off. Its flames grow in size and it comes towards us. The color of orange and red fills my entire vision. The heat is almost becoming unbearable now as it races to burn us to a crisp.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

*CLASH!*

*-! -ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!*

Neptune comes down from the sky and lands a solid hit on the dragon's head. Interrupting it once again of its firey breath. Neptune lands and gives distance as I make a break for it, covering the 5 meters distance in 2 seconds or less. Its brown scales are hard just as I had hoped meaning…

The dragon rises up once more, the flames are seeping out of its mouth again, ready to throw them at us.

I swing my sword toward the inner side of its left knee. Driving the sword deep and cutting across it as long as possible. Making sure I cut its tendons.

*ROOOOOAAAAAAAR*

The dragon roars a whimper. Telling us of the pain that it's exhibiting from its left leg. As it comes down, the dragon raises it's right claw and swings it down.

"I won't let you!"

Nepgear comes out from hiding and jumps from the side towards the oncoming claw with her beam saber raised and ready to swing.

*SWING!*

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

She cleanly cuts the claw off. It roars in excruciating pain as it's claw comes falling down.

*BANG!*

うずめ comes flying towards the dragon's chest at Mach 1, her right arm swinging.

" 'UNYA! SMASH!' "

*BOOOM!*

*ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARR*

*BAAM!* *RRRRRRRR!*

* * *

 _A/N: Finally I was able to construct this while in my busy schedule. Please do forgive me for that. IRL is not being nice again this year._

 _Patre-on Ad: Rom's Love story part III the DJ form is now available for everyone to view on Patre-on. Link on my profile, remove the dashes. Support if you like it!_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

*BAM!*

*BOOM!*

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

Now that is one hell of a punch. I can feel the shockwave as though an explosion just happened. The doggie, as she likes to call it, is blown 20 feet away. I think I see a crater on its chest. うずめ comes down, wearing a satisfied look on her face as she shakes her hand, as though alleviating the soreness.

" 'Unyaaa~...I finally won against the doggie~...' " she comes up to us wearing a mix of a tired and satisfied look on her face. It's like she just had a refreshing workout.

"D-Doggie…?" a confused Nepgear is confused. Probably from the cute nickname うずめ gave to that wingless dragon.

" 'But it's totally because of you guys that I was able to defeat it. Thank you~ Thank you~ ' " she gleefully said.

"No need to thank us, we're friends now! I'd go bat for ya any day of the week!" Neptune said.

"She's right. Um… so, what's your CPU name, Uzume?" Nepgear asked.

" 'It's Orange Heart! ' "

"You know, I was really surprised by your transformation, Uzume" no shit, Neptune. I think we all did.

"I thought you'd get even more aggressive in HDD form, but you're completely the opposite!" that goes for you too, you know.

"I can't get over it! It's so crazy!" please get over it.

" '... Huh? Nepsy, why do you know about CPUs…?' "

"Oh, right right! There was so much going on, I forgot to tell you we're both CPUs too!"

" '...Really!? Are you serious!?' "

"Really, really! I'm the patron CPU of Planpetune, Purple Heart" she gleefully poses as though there are multiple spotlights all pointing at her. With the paparazzi raving at her.

"..Except… I kinda have no shares here so it's not like I could transform and just show you..."

" '...So, you're a CPU too, Gearsy?' "

"Yes, I am… Although, technically, I'm a CPU Candidate"

" 'Then, then, then, then...' "

"Nope" I answered Uzume's eyes that are now full of excitement and anticipation. I think she was slightly disappointed.

"Big Brother is a special case"

"Mhm, mhm. He's our resident bully!" that sounds wrong in all sorts of ways, my wife.

" 'Wow, this is crazy! Never in a million years would I have imagined I'd run into CPUs in a desolate place like this. So cool!' "

"Oh, believe me, we're just as surprised. But I'm sure this is fate!" I think fate has been favoring us a few thousand times already.

" 'You're right!' "うずめ glows in white just as before. Her form changes and the light dims.

"...Tch, it looks I ran out of time" and here comes her rough voice to neutralize her previous voice.

"Ran out of time…? Oh, right, it looked like you were using a share crystal to transform" Nepgear says her observation.

"Grrrrrrr..."

We jerked our heads towards the source of the growl. We see the wingless dragon, struggling to get up as it glares menacingly at us. The flames roar in between its clenched teeth. Ready to be fired at us at a moment's notice.

"No way! It's still alive?!" of course it's still alive, Nepgear. all she did was punch the thing very hard.

"Damn it… You're a resilient bastard, aren't you? Do you want another beating, you idiot?!" うずめ said, her fist clenched.

"Shoot, any more of this is gonna be tough, even for me..." when were you the resilient type, my wife?

"...but if it still wants a fight, then we'll keep going 'till the very end!" she swings her sword around as she declares.

"Woah woman, stop swinging it around like that"

*Badum!* *Badum!* *Badum!* *Badum!*

"What kind of sound effects are those?" I say as it quickly runs away like a runaway horse.

"...It… ran away..." even my redhaired friend is dumbfounded.

"Haha! It's running away because of my intimidating strength. Yeah, keep on walkin', tough guy!"

"Probably afraid for your careless swinging" I said to my wife.

"Maybe because it's just hurt" not like Nepgear is wrong.

"I'm not satisfied that I couldn't finish it off, but now I can finally take on that giant" うずめ declared.

"W-Wait just a second, Uzume! How can you be thinking of fighting that giant?!"

"Hey, hey. What's the matter, Nepsy? What happened to 'we'll keep going 'til the very end'?"

"You know that's not what I mean! All I'm saying is, you might not make it if you try fighting like this"

"She's right you know. We're kinda at a disadvantage here" brazen confidence is nice and all but there's really a time and place for it.

"If we don't kno-!"

Instincts suddenly take over me. I move in between them and swing my sword. Intercepting something that is coming my way.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

"Nepu! Jared!"

"Rgh?!"

"You okay you two?" I asked.

"Nepu! Wh-what was that!?"

"Most likely from that Titan" I can actually feel its presence, even though we're some blocks away from it. Ergo we can't see it at street level.

"...Tch! A surprise attack, how cowardly…!" うずめ is furious, raising her fist towards the sky as she breaks free from me.

"Let's return the favor twofold! It's our turn to debut!" uh, no. So I want to rest.

"Ah…!" うずめ falls on one knee as her face grimaced.

"Are you okay, Uzume?! Did you get hurt from that explosion just now…?" Nepgear runs up to her.

"You kidding? It takes more than that to take me down. Let's focus on how we can kill this thing- Oh, crap. Did everyone get out okay…?!" remembering something important, うずめ presses a button on her watch.

"It's me! What's your status? Have they all been evacuated?"

" _Uzume. We've just finished. We're in the next town over_ " and the deep calm voice exits the speaker once more.

"Oh, good… we just made it..." a relieved tone escapes her.

" _Yes, they're safe now thanks to you, Uzume_ "

"Then I can fight without reservations… Thanks for the update" Uzume ends the call with flames burning inside her eyes.

"Seems like everyone was able to escape safely. It's all because of you three… thank you" so… why is she saying this as though it's her last goodbye?

"O-of course, but don't you think it's time we escape, as well?!" Nepgear said.

"Escape?! I've been waiting so long for another chance!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"...!"

"Neptu...! NEPTUNE!"

"...!"

"Dodge!"

*BAM!* *BAM!**BAM!**BAM!*

I try to give chase but fireballs suddenly fly across my vision. An eruption happened between me and her, the moment the fireballs hits the ground.

"...! Neptune!"

I didn't mind the puff of dust nor the debris nor the ringing in my ears. I push through towards Neptune.

"Whew, just dodged it by the skin of our hairs" I found her on top of うずめ.

"Jesus Christ woman, don't just jump out like that..." I help her up.

"Sis, Uzume! Are you both alright?"

"We're fine! I mean, it was too close for comfort, but it looks like we're doing okay"

"Yeah, thanks to you, Nepsy..."

"Geez, Uzume! You really think it's a good idea to fight this thing when you're all beat up?" my wife asked.

"Of course I do"

"It's too risky! Let's get out of here while we sti-!"

"SHUT UP!" Nepgear's plea dies out from a command filled with fury.

"Weee!?"

"I haven't had a shot like this in so damn long, and I don't expect you to get it. But if Nepsy and the rest wanna leave then just go"

"W-What are you saying?! There's no way you can hold your own with that thing..."

"No. I can do this. I'm gonna fight even if the flesh is falling off my bones..." what are you going to do when you become a zombie? Nibble it to death?

"Besides, I won't lose in a fight even if I die! Even if I have to go down with it, I'll..."

"Hiyaaaah!"

*SMACK!*

"O-oawwwww! What the hell're you doing!?"

A big smack on the back of うずめ's head from our friendly neighborhood Neptune caused her to crouch down and hold the place where she got smacked. She looks at the perpetrator with teary eyes. That must have hurt. She's lucky that Neptune smacked her and not me.

"Drop the tough girl act and live to fight another day! You know, what they say where there's life, there's rope!" classic Neptune. Pffft!

"...R...rope…?" even うずめ is dumbfounded by the weird mixup of quotes.

"I-I think she meant to say 'hope'" Nepgear corrected. And Nepgear is trying to contain her laugh.

"Yeah, that's the word! Hope!"

"All the good little monsters were able to escape, isn't that good enough for now? You don't need to push yourself, pal"

"We better wrap this up. I think our giant masked raider will fire another one at us"

"And that's how it's gonna be. Nepgear, gimme a hand here"

Nepgear creeping behind うずめ, she holds her by the underarms and lifts her up. At the same time, Neptune lifts うずめ's waist over her head. うずめ can't hide the red on her face as she just realized the sister's quick movements and execution.

"Woah, hey! Lemme go, you jerks! You can't just pick me up like this! Put me down! Jarsy help!"

"I can't. I gotta protect you girls from raining fireballs"

"Got a good grip on her, Nep Jr.? Let's blow this pineapple stand!" and we started to run away.

"HEY, LISTEN TO ME, DAMN IT!"

"Viewer disclaimer, no pineapples were harmed during this run"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

"*Pant*... *Pant*..."

"I think you should go on my daily morning runs, tired Little Sister of mine"

"Whooo, I think this is probably far enough. Doesn't look like we were followed, either. Can ya confirm, Jared?"

"Yes, ma'am. Nothing but clear purple skies and some crackamajingy"

After running away to some random location, we stop by the alley hiding from the sites of that giant うずめ. I swear I dunno why it's not firing its fireballs at us. And why does every projectile have to be 60% fireballs?

"Geez, getting in the way like that… How could you…? You three know… a CPU's sworn duty is to protect her people..." well yeah, but who protects the protector?

"But, you're alive right?" Neptune rebutted.

"*Sigh*...Fine already. I guess I should be thankful… so thank you"

"I'm just glad you're here"

"Is there any place we could rest…? We did quite a battle and we need to find a place to ten to Uzume's injuries" Nepgear asked.

"Well, let's head back to my base. Even now, it's out of the way of danger, and I have a lot of supplies we could use"

"What a convenient base..."

"Yeah, how come you don't make something that convenient Jared?"

"I have incredibly bad luck, it seems" I confirmed this after making some statistical analysis on my lotto rolls.

We're still technically in enemy territory so we're not completely putting down our guard. Hence why we're going through these alleys instead of the wide open road. Given that うずめ knows this place like the back of her hand, we follow her lead. It feels like we're making progress through the forest of buildings even though our steps says otherwise.

"Alleys… huh...hm?" something is tugging my shirt.

"Are you a shy little cat now, Neptune?"

"..." she doesn't answer. I don't push her.

Nepgear and うずめ engage in their chitter chatter about various stuff. Girl talk is incredible, they're jumping from one topic to another in a seamless fashion. First, they're talking about the weather, a common starter, next they talk about books, then next they talk about the structure of the buildings, then how stuffed animals are made of brass and steel sometimes. No, I am not kidding about that last one.

"E-Eeeeeeh? They're married!?"

"You didn't notice?"

"No, I didn't"

"Did you just told her that Neptune and I are married?" I asked my little sister.

"Yup"

"Then how come she calls you… o-ooooh!" seems she understood the relationship between me and Nepgear.

"So that's what a married couple looks like" うずめ darts her eyes back and forth between me and my wife. Is she looking at an exotic set of animals?

"...? What's wrong with Nepsy?" upon hearing her nickname, my wife's head jerks up looking at the friend that called.

"...! Uh-Uh I'm fine!"

"Really?"

"M-mhm! I was just catching my breath and all, carrying you all the way was kinda tough"

"Now she understands my feelings, thank the lord" will she stop boarding the Jared express now? Not that I mind, really.

"Nope! I'm still boarding the express since it has fast travel mechanics"

"I'll treat it as cardio then"

"Big Brother is always treated as a free ride" Nepgear don't explain to her please, or this woman will...

"You can ride the Jared express if you want Uzume!"

"You know, I should start charging people that want to ride me" that sounds wrong.

"Nepu! But I only have pudding as payment"

"Not enough pudding"

"How many puddings must I need, Conductor!?"

"A lifetime supply"

"But that's too many"

"No pudding no ride"

"Nepu..." and she breaks down.

"And that's how they're banter usually goes..." Nepgear ends her narration.

"Is this how married people talk?" うずめ doesn't know how married people talk.

"I think Big Brother knows that… I mean, he has lots of experience points"

"Nepgear, are you suggesting that I had multiple wives?"

"Why would you ever think that?" Little sister, are you perhaps thinking that I'm a gigolo or something along those lines?

"Oh, Jared hasn't told me about his past lovers too!" uh, woman, I think I… oh wait, I really haven't told her, have I? Well nobody asked up until now anyway.

"A story for another time"

"Booo" the sister chorused their disappointments.

After a while of light-hearted back and forth exchange, we reached the hiding spot once more. The tension between us and the surroundings drop. Goes to show that we were still nervous about that giant robot appearing out of nowhere. We head up towards the "living" area proper.

"~~aaaaah home sweet home" Neptune immediately heads for the bed and made herself comfortable.

"Want some water?" I asked. But she raised her hand and lazily gestures a no. I help myself with the mess kit.

"I'll go light the stove"

"Ooh, you people adapt well" うずめ is surprised. Not really, we just destroyed the filter altogether between stranger versus strangers.

"Of course! We've been through many adventures before this one!"

"And somehow it ends with something bad happening to us" I gulp my cup of water. Remember kids, water is everything. Don't forget to drink water or you die after 3 days.

"Well, today the 'end' didn't have that giant chasing us at the last minute. I'll call it a lucky day for us" Nepgear said.

"Oh, Nepu. What's happening with that giant thing anyway? Is it gonna make its way over here at some point?"

"Don't worry. Looks like, after its little rampage, it disappeared again. That's usually what it does" うずめ answers.

"How strangely convenient for us..." and answers why this place isn't as fucked up as it should.

"Oh… so we really made it out safely!" Nepgear is relieved.

"Well, yeah, but that area is no longer good to us anymore. I'm a little worried. We're running out of places to go..." huh, so any place touched by that thing is now an infested area.

"But, I am glad everyone got out okay. Plus, we were able to seriously injure that mutt. Even the small victories are pretty sweet" you got that right.

"Well, you guys are pretty worn out too, right? I've got some food if you're hungry and blankets if it gets cold. Make yourselves at home"

"Jokes on you, she's already making herself at home" Neptune had already fallen asleep the moment she felt relief.

"Zzzzz….Zzzzz…"

"That's Sis for you, no filter at all"

"What time is it anyway? All that warm up made me a tad hungrier"

"Oh, it's… goodness it's this late already" Nepgear checks with her N gear.

"Figured as much..." hrmm… so the sky doesn't change color between day and night, eh? This is bad for our sleep schedule.

"What do we have for a light dinner Uzume?" Nepgear asked.

"Hrmmmm… We do have some canned foods at the other room"

"Like a true survivor's hideout" canned foods are a staple in urban survival.

"Oh, I think I can make something out of that. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, do your thing however you like"

"A little spicy please"

"Mhm, okay..." and she disappears to the adjacent room.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

A new day, new beginnings, new plans. Regret is fine, we all have regrets. But wallowing up in our self-despair doesn't change anything one tiny bit. Stuck in an endless spiral of finding some sort of pity from strangers. It is frustrating to know that you cannot change what you could've avoided. But today exists to redeem yourself. And tomorrow will come to show you the result of today.

And today…

"999… and 1000..." I let go of the bar, landing safely on the ground.

"Ah, I can feel my triceps burning from that..." I stretch it for a bit.

As you can perfectly see from my topless attire, I'm doing some exercises. Why do you ask? Well, so I can prepare to face the giant of course. Preparation is one of the keys to success. And I've been pretty rusty lately. Marriage life is cool and all, but all I've been doing was sit on a desk for 2 hours, and do nothing afterward.

But Jared, no one can do 1000 pull-ups. Practice your grip strength and endurance. But exercise is hard. Ever heard the phrase no blood, no glory? But Jared…

"You know Neptune, I'm okay with you ruining my monologue, but why are you awake at this time?"

"Nepu? Well, I want to see the city is all"

"Well there's a fire at the far right, but don't think too much about it"

"Ooooh, you're right"

Oh right, I forgot to tell you that I'm on the roof of a building right now, doing some L- sits. The building doesn't have the best view of the city other than you're able to see Planeptower in clear view. Neptune stands by the edge of the fence, taking in the scenery or lack thereof.

"Say, Jared..."

"Yeah?"

"...Nothing! Just wanted to get your attention"

"You always have my attention"

"Stop being cheesy you oldie!"

"Whops..." I managed to lean back 90 degrees with one leg.

"Ooooh!" Neptune seems impressed.

"Okay..." I stand up properly this time.

"I think my body is ready. But I need to work on my abs next time..." a reason why I chose to train my back today was that I might scale that thing. I'm not used to climbing things while the thing I'm climbing is moving and jerking me around.

"Here ya go! Water bottle" Neptune pulls out from seemingly out of nowhere a water bottle.

"Where'd you pull this out?" I take it and pop open the cap.

"Compa taught me a few cool stuff" dammit Compa! Teach me these kinds of things too!

"Oh, Sis, Big Brother. I've been looking for you two" in great timing, as I am drinking my water, Nepgear pops out from the door.

"Oh, Nep. Jr, is it time for breakfast?"

"Mhm. I was just done setting up the table"

"Oh, while you're here, look at these pretty view! You can see the sky more clearly! It's pretty whacked up, huh"

"Mhm, it's kinda like lightning in slow motion" my little sister is referring to the cracks in the sky.

"Hrmm. I was wondering, what do you think this city's called?"

"A strange question to ask… but isn't this Planeptune?" I answered.

"I'm just curious why these buildings and that over there look so much like Planeptune's. It's odd, isn't it?"

"Hrmmm… Are you saying that we're _not_ in Planeptune?" that could be a possibility. If the semblance is too uncanny, you'd naturally doubt.

"Mhm. Maybe it's just a coincidence that this place _looks_ like Planeptune but it's named entirely different"

"Different places different faces"

"Why'd you ask Nep Jr?"

"I thought I'd keep a record of our experience and document any irregularities we encounter" did you record the fact there's a giant robot out there? The cracks in the sky?

"How about we ask Uzume! She'd know for sure" great suggestion, Neptune.

I put my shirt back on and followed the girls down the stairs. It took no time at all for the smell of soup filling my lungs as we reach the second floor. We go through the series of empty rooms before seeing the light from our room.

Reentering our living quarters, there's a giant bowl full of soup being kept warm by a portable stove.

"Oh, you guys are late" うずめ greeted us, already waiting with a bowl on hand.

"Hmm~~! I'm going to dig in already!" Neptune unable to hold it in sits right beside うずめ, gets a bowl, and scoops up some soup to her bowl.

"I just made soup with we have. And oil was a bit scarce so I opted for soup as breakfast"

"No worries, I can only make soup anyway" うずめ said.

"So that's why oil was scarce"

"To be honest, I was practicing" うずめ says as she also scoops some soup.

"Nepu! This is really rich Nep. Jr! Seal of approval!" Neptune raises a thumb.

"Yay! I got another seal of approval" how many are you collecting?

Nepgear and I sat down, gets a bowl and started scooping some soup for ourselves. Ah, that hits the spot. A good thing to have after some exercise. It's light, rich, taste both fish and leafy.

"Oh yeah, Uzume. We've been wondering what the name of this city was" Neptune asked as soon she finished drinking her 3rd serve.

"Hmmm… The name of this city..." うずめ ponders for a while.

"...Sorry, I don't know it either"

"Eh? You don't know? But you're the CPU right?"

"Well, yeah, I'm the CPU, but, to be honest… all of my memories are gone..." 0 to 60 is 5 words.

"...Eh?" the sisters almost choke at their servings.

"I woke to the sight of this city in shambles, and that's the earliest thing I can recall" that's a sight for groggy eyes.

"The only thing I'm sure of is that I am the CPU of this nation, and that giant is responsible for its destruction" and now the giant robot is mad for such baseless accusation.

"Oh… I'm sorry, we had no idea..." Nepgear apologizes.

"It's alright, really. Nothin' for you to worry about, Gearsy"

"Having no memories isn't hurtin' me in any way… It is what it is. Sorry I can't really help. *Siiip!*"

"So, I've been meaning to ask, but where did you come from, Nepsy?"

"Oh? We live in Planeptune. Ever heard of it?"

"Planeptune…?" the moment she repeated, she suddenly shuts her eyes.

"Ngh?!"

"What's wrong, Uzume?" Nepgear asked, noticing it.

"O-Oh, nothing really, I think it's just fatigue finally catching up to me" fatigue does come the day after.

"So… Planeptune… was it…? Sorry, but I don't think I know it"

"I see..." Nepgear is disheartened.

"Only… there is the possibility that's it's a nation from across the ocean" so we're on a whole new continent? Where's the flag when I need it? I need to claim this land ours by force!

"Across… the ocean?"

"Yeah. I've never been… I'm not sure what's over there" so you've never been to the ocean huh.

"Then, does that mean that we've crossed an ocean and ended up on another continent without even knowing it?!"

"Pretty much *Siiiip!*" I get another serving.

"Is that possible? I can't say I'm very convinced" Nepgear doubts.

"But, it would explain why the N-Gear has no reception"

"Do you three remember how you even got here? It didn't seem like you flew, or anything" うずめ asked.

"Basically… we got sucked into something, then something happened and we somehow ended up here" I answered.

"I pressed the power button of a game console I was trying to fix, then a giant vortex appeared, sucked us in, and we ended up in this city" Nepgear answered in detail.

"A vortex, huh? No matter how you look at it, a faraway continent or not, that must be what warped you guys here" highly doubt that.

"Speaking of possibilities… where do you find those Share Crystals?" the mere fact that she used a Share Crystal, which is highly rare according to the Ultradimension girls.

"Oh right, you use a Share Crystal to transform" Nepgear remembers.

"...But where did you find them?"

"Oh, it's just lyin' around here somewhere"

we

"...What? You just find share crystals on the ground? Is that normal here…?"

"Yup" she answers so casually but Nepgear ain't having it.

"T-That's impossible!" see?

"Share crystals are the condensed crystallization of invisible share energy. How can they just be found on the ground?" invisible? I can see them clearly once in a while.

"That's right, but… Is something wrong?"

"In order to manufacture a share crystal, you need a huge amount of shares, and a special formula in order to crystallize it" what? I thought they were natural.

"Before this, when fighting an enemy called the Deity of Sin, the Oracles of our nations created share crystals but barely managed to make four" hmmmmm…

"For those to be lying out in the open..."

"Huh… So, that's how share crystals are made" うずめ nods.

"To be honest, even I don't know why share crystals are lying on the ground" well, from what I can tell, I can blame it on the different rule set in this dimension/place.

"So, for you, they're like slightly rare items that can give you a temporary boost in shares, right?" Neptune added.

"Yeah, something like that. That's why I always carry 'em with me, so I won't run out. Look" うずめ pulls out from her pocket a bunch of rocks glittering in an array of colors.

"Amazing… This might be the first time I've seen such a large pile of share crystals"

"Wait a sec, where's the music?" I asked.

"Nepu? Ooooooh, we usually have music playing when there are shiny things shining on us"

"It's embarrassing, but I can't go HDD unless I have things, so my allies are always on the lookout for more"

"Oh man, you're really living life on the edge" Neptune commented. Life on the edge is fun.

"Can't be helped. Besides, it's good to have something to rely on"

"Well, you can rest assured from now on. Even if I can't transform, the Goddess of Victory is on my side!"

"Mhm! I've got high hopes for you guys"

"You know, Uzume. It's best if you don't really rely on Neptune's luck"

"What you say!?"

"I mean, some time ago, she lost to me into guessing the right number on a dice roll"

"Aaaaah! Don't ruin them mood!" jokes on you, I already did.

"As an apology, I think we should hold a small party for us surviving from that thing yesterday" small victories are worth celebrating for after all.

"Mhm! Let's have a juice party!" Neptune adds.

"Do we even have juice?" I asked Nepgear.

"Mhm. It's enough for us at least" she sips the last of her soup.

"Okay! Let's go make a wazzam juice party! You come help too, Nep Jr.!"

"Okay!" putting down their bowls, the Nep sisters both stand up and heads towards our rations room.

"And there they go..."

"Mhm… To think that those two turned out to be CPUs..." うずめ mumbles.

"Crazy right?"

"Yeah… But Planeptune… eh..."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

"Okay, so I think I get that we landed on a continent across the ocean, but how are we gonna get back over there?" Neptune suddenly asked.

"Well, I think we'll have to find a boat since we can't really fly without transforming..." ain't that obvious little Sister.

We're in the middle of our juice party. So much sugar in breakfast is bad but I've gotten used to eating pudding just to save space in the fridge. Our sugar intake is ridiculous right now. I've already downed like 10 cartons of juice with X grams of sugar. And I've got about 5 more to go. If this goes on, I'll get fat before Neptune does, and that mustn't happen!

The Sisters have started a new conversation just as うずめ left for the toilet.

"So, that means our first quest is to find a boat, just like that one famous RPG! I'm super pumped!"

"You know, I'm sure Histoire is really worried about us, since we just disappeared without a trace. We need to hurry and find a way home!" she might be, Nepgear.

"Nepgear, do you think it's okay for us to just… leave…?" of course not.

"What do you mean…?"

"I mean, Uzume… She's been fighting alone for who knows how many years, without any idea of who or where she is..." she really doesn't like the idea of separation huh.

"Even if we're able to find a way home, shouldn't we help her out first?"

"There's no need for that, Nepsy"

"Oh, Uzume! What do you mean by that?"

うずめ pops out from the right side of the living room and sits back down beside the burner.

"If you have a home to get back to, you should hurry up and get back there"

"But… Uzume..." Nepgear losses the words to respond.

"In all honesty, it was surreal running into you, I never thought I'd meet other people in this dump, let alone a pair of sister CPU's plus their Husband slash Brother" the honor is ours, うずめ.

"When you three willingly stood alongside me in battle, it made me so freaking happy to be alive. It was something I'd never felt before..." always a first for everything.

"But, when all is said and done, this battle is between me and that giant idiot… There's no need for you to risk your lives here" such confidence.

"So, if you have people waiting on you, you should leave. I'm the CPU here. This nation is my responsibility and mine alone"

"Now that we know all that, we can't possibly leave you here all by yourself" my wife said.

"To fight that thing on your own for so long… It's too horrible!" she adds.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not horrible at all. That's just everyday life for me" what an amazing everyday life you have うずめ.

"Um, when you say the responsibility is yours alone… have there really been no other CPUs to come and help you in the past?" Nepgear asked.

"That's right. I've always been the only CPU here" how lonesome.

"And there's no one else to help you fight, even if they're not CPUs?" Neptune asks.

"It's a shame, but there's no one else that looks like they could fight. It's up to me"

"That's all the more reason for us to help! Three heads are better than one, but four are better than two!" my wife declares.

"I mean, I get that you know how to fight, but I couldn't possibly do something so uncool like involving unrelated people in this fight" how is that uncool exactly?

"We're not unrelated! We're friends! We can't just ignore a friend who's in trouble. It wouldn't feel right to just leave!"

It must have had an effect on her, as her eyes are slightly wide and her mouth just a tad ajar.

"...Friends, huh…?" she whispers.

"I-It's not like I think of you guys as like, actual f-f-friends or anything like that!" are you Noire!?

"One fresh serving of Noire-II comin' right up!"

"Oh, I know…!" Nepgear seems to have a lightbulb on top of her head.

"I have a proposal for you, Uzume, will you listen to me for a second?"

"...Proposal?"

"Why don't you let Big Sis and I help you out until we go back home?" what an amazing proposal that Nepgear pulled off.

"Whaaaa…?! Until you go home? I'm trying to tell you that it's too dangerous so you should head home immediately!" it seems うずめ doesn't get it. If it were me, I'd say…

"About that… Don't you think it'd be dangerous for us to explore a strange land we're unfamiliar with?" perfect points.

"We have no idea where a boat might be, and we don't know when that giant's going to show up again" another perfect response.

"Also, if we were to be targeted, I don't think Neptune and I, and even Big Brother, could handle it alone" and another one! Well, not really, I think I can handle that giant thing alone.

"...What're you getting at?" うずめ is sensing what Nepgear is trying to say.

"It must be some sort of fate that we've met, so why don't we work together?" Nepgear! You can be a saleslady!

"...I get it. I'll help you guys look for a way home, and, in the meantime, you'll help me fight" with slumped shoulders, うずめ yields.

"Oooooh! As expected from my kid sister! A great two-birds-with-one-stone idea!" Neptune cheered.

"I'm just applying my lessons..." don't look at me, little sister.

"What the hell anyway. Not like you're gonna listen to me, anyway. Let's do as Gearsy says and work together" うずめ declared.

"But if we find a way to get you guys home, I'm sendin' you guys back as soon as I can, and I won't have any complaints about it"

"Now that we've established a pact, what should we do now?" I ask as soon as my concentration of sipping these juices are done.

"Well, we do have some food left so we're good on that front" Nepgear answered.

"And we've got lots and lots of water too!" and so I Neptune.

"Hrmmm…" it's still like what… 10:30 am? Since the sky doesn't change all I'm relying on is my internal clock.

"Well I do some regular stuff if you don't mind tagging along with me" more reasons to exercise.

"Oh, like what exactly?"

"Finding share crystals and general scouting"

"The same old same old eh? Well, there's no harm in that" I might find something interesting.

"So how about it? Neptune? Nepgear?"

"Sure!" the both chorused.

[Line Break]

"And we've split apart..." I commented as we make our rounds.

"Well, we can't do anything about that. Besides, we can cover more ground this way" you got a point, うずめ.

"I do hope they don't do something reckless or my headaches will never cease..." I'm more worried about Neptune, to be honest.

"You sure worry about wife huh..."

"Of course, I'm the woman's husband. It's a responsibility after all. Just like you who are responsible for its citizen's right?"

"Yep! It's funny how you understand me"

"I've got experience backing me up so it's not like I'm smart to begin with"

As we make our small chit chat, our feet travel the cracked roads of the district around us. Despite the 'war' most of the buildings still stand. Is it because of the giant disappearing after making such an impact? But impact aside, wouldn't the city already level from just the monsters? I mean, that giant bug thingie, I forgot its name because it's a forgettable character, didn't try to smash through the alleyway when we made our escape.

"So many things to learn..." you can never truly rely on your own knowledge even when you've lived some years. Keeping your glass empty makes you wise after all.

"Did you say something, just mumbling to myself, oh shall there are monsters in the distance..." maybe a _canis lupus_ type.

"We don't need to fight em" such a wise decision, うずめ.

"Agreed" as long as we don't let them follow us back to base they won't be much of a threat. And besides, they're finding they're own food.

"We can head into this alley" うずめ points to an alley on our right.

Without wasting time, I head towards the alley with うずめ right behind me.

"Now then… I think this is a good place..." I stop on my tracks.

"Uzume, you can stop glaring at me. It's bad for my health"

"...! You…!"

* * *

 _A/N: Been a while since I've done some shameless advertisement but here we go again. I've made an FB page and a Twitter page so go check em out on my profile. And Rom's Love Story(dj) is free to view over at may patre-on/FB page so go check them out!_


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

"Uzume…"

My back is turned to her. And this alley is narrow that it can fight only one person. She's been stealing looks at me since I came down earlier. I didn't bring it to attention seeing as the 3 are newly found friends, it would spoil the mood.

As much as this is a weird misunderstanding, there's something that's been bugging me ever since she cornered me in this alley.

"...What are you…?"

There's something in her glare…

"What do you mean what am I?"

"Are you one of 'them'?"

This feeling… this heaviness…

"...Them?"

"...The Giants?"

They have a spark of familiarity…

"Giants? You think I'm 25ft tall?"

"Then why do you 'smell' like them?" do I really smell? I know I went for a workout this morning, but I know I wiped myself to a shiny me. So she must be smelling her own breath.

"You see, I've been fighting those giants for years now. And they have a certain smell on them when I get close enough" giants? There's more than 1 giant?

"And you're saying that I smell like them?"

"When you came down this morning, even though it's faint. I can smell it from you"

I see. This shows her lack of knowledge. She doesn't want to take chances. If ever there's a slight chance that I'm an enemy then she'll take it as a guarantee. Call it jumping to conclusions but she's the only one fighting, after all. And in a kill or be killed environment, I'm pretty sure I would also take the former.

"Did you really come with Nepsy and Gearsy?"

"I did"

"Did you brainwash them or something?"

"If I did, then we're not having this interrogation now"

"Can you transform?"

"I've been trying to do it for years"

"...Sorry about that… You can turn around now..."

"Oh then have we rea-!"

"...!"

This girl had just lunged towards me with her fist leading the charge. Instinct did some wonder for me and I dodged it. She flies past me and lands a little further into the alley.

"...I really can't take any chances..."

"Tsk..." girl, ever heard of innocent until proven otherwise?

"For the sake of the people on my shoulders, I need to do this" she clenches her fist.

What to do. I need to avoid a fight somehow. If we do, those 2 girls might distrust her. Or she might distrust them.

"Uzume… let's assume that all 3 of us we're giants, since obviously, you're getting in the way of our world domination wouldn't it have benefited us more if we did you in, the moment you let your guard down?"

"What if being friends with me is also a part of your plan?"

"Then why didn't we kill you in your sleep? Or better yet, we should have contacted that giant when we knew about your hiding spot"

"Again, maybe all a part of your plan..."

"Then… do you think my Neptune and Nepgear's friendship towards you was a lie?"

"..."

"You're not stupid enough to not see. That those 2 are honest to the bone. Them being deceitful is out of the question"

"Isn't that what you think?"

"Then why am I the only one you're trying to rat out?"

"..."

"With your trust issues, you should have also suspected those 2 as well. But why only me?"

"..."

"If you trust them, then that's good enough for me. Let's drop this conversation for another time" instincts are telling me that they're close.

"You're not trying to clear your suspicion?"

"I'm not. I'm too preoccupied anyway, I've got a wife, a little-sister-in-law, and their newly found friend to take care of" and especially the wife.

"...*Sigh* Geez, hearing that makes me want to say sorry for suspecting you now" her fist turns into an open hand and scratches the back of her head.

"Thank you very much"

"...But if you do something suspicious then I won't hesitate to do you in"

"Sure sure. If you can give me a good warm-up I'm happy to oblige"

* * *

"Hey, Uzume? I have a question about that… thing" Neptune walks up to the contemplating うずめ sitting on the bed. I'm prepping coffee.

"Yeah, that. We keep calling it stuff like "the giant" or "that thing," but does it have an actual name?" let's call it _gigantus thingus_.

"A name, huh? I've never really thought about it. I wonder if it has a name at all" うずめ ponders. I told you _gigantus thingus._

"So you don't know about its real identity either?"

"I don't know anything about that… It's not like I can just talk to it" her eyes briefly looks at me before returning.

"All I know is that it's on a warpath whenever it appears" and here I thought world war 3 will be a fight between nuclear powers. Instead, we get giant robot thingies.

"And when it destroys cities, it erases them from existence. They just vanish. I keep saying it but, we're really running out of places to hide" yes we heard that already.

"Isn't that like double kill!?"

"That's not all… I haven't seen 'em myself, but there are also three other giants as well… they've destroyed the other three nations" so we have 4 giants to deal with. Great. I'm going to have a really good work out.

"There are four of those things?! Oh, jeez, we picked a really bad time to visit this place..."

"Any time is a good time to visit some strange place, Neptune"

"I'm back" a wild Nepgear appears from looting spree. And looking at the backpack, she seems to have plenty of loot.

"Welcome back did you find some creamer?" I asked as she puts down her bag.

"Didn't find any, but I did find some milk" she pulled out a jug of milk.

"Even better" I prefer milk over creamer for my coffee.

"What else did you find Nep Jr.?" Neptune comes over.

"Let's see… I found a pan" why did you bother getting a pan?

"Is it a special kind of pan that can deflect bullets?"

"I don't think pans can do that"

"What else did you find Gearsy?" うずめ

"I also found this thing" she pulled out a…

"Nepu! It's a d-HMGG!"

"Don't talk with your mouthful!"

Is it possible that something can be covered in mosaic? No, unless and this is the matrix where someone can just overlap what I see in real time. I mean, okay, let's describe it. It's long and brown and it's covered in mosaic. Where in god's name did Nepgear get that!?

"Oh this looks cool it's trippy too!"

"Right? I wonder what this is?"

STOP IT YOU TWO! Are you both so innocent that you can't find any innuendo in what you're holding!? Assuming that you both don't know what a dick is and you're just innocently playing, isn't the fact that it's literally covered in mosaic sound off alarm signals for you!? Have you not seen classic censoring!?

"It's warm too it's like it's alive"

"It sometimes twitches when you touch a certain spot"

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME! Stop stroking it! Better yet throw it away! I can't do that cause I have to keep my wife down. And I can't say it because I don't want to contaminate my little sister's innocent mind!

"Oh it does twitch"

"See? And if you..."

Stop! Stop! STOP! Stop touching the tip! And stop stroking it while you're at it too! Jaysus Christ! We're an R-18 fic but I swear to god we don't do visual or textual innuendo! And why the hell do you girls have upturned faces like you're expecting something!?

"Oh it's getting hotter"

No! NO! NO! OH GAWD NO! STOP!

*POP!*

"..."

"Mmmgmmmmggmh!"

"...Oh, it popped..."

"What so it was just a balloon"

"Yeah, who knew that it was a balloon. So that's why it was getting hotter..."

"Well, it's a rare find. And the visual is trippy too. Someone did it as a prank or something"

"What's wrong Big Brother? You looked you just ran a marathon"

"...No I'm fine. I'm going to continue holding down my wife" which she is still struggling.

"mmmGH! Aaaaaah!"

*Sounds of flesh ripping out*


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

I haven't done one of these lately but it does describe my current mood.

I'm Histy's assistant. Funny how an assistant to a CPU needs an assistant. And the work is grueling. Sure I only work from 9 to 12 but the amount of paperwork I have to dig through proves how complex society is. We have people left and right making their own startups, creating noise in hopes of being remembered or noticed. Individuals with some degree of talent, performing in the streets with brave indifference, giving permission to care to their audience. Up and down are people rallying over some concept that they do not have a grasp of. Fighting in their own truth, no matter how illogical or non-sensical that truth is.

And as we consume more and more in a technological wonder such as Planeptune where everything is literally on your fingertips. You have to wonder, when will silence come? Surely we cannot be indifferent to the noise. We're beings made to notice anything. Distractions plaguing us all around.

Truth is, we've forgotten the beauty and melody from the gentle ensemble of silence. The artistical cracks of internal space. As we seek perfection each and every day, everyone seems to forget that perfection is a flaw in and of itself.

And it takes a post-apocalyptic world to regain that sense of self.

"Oh, the irony..."

"Nepu? You've gone crazy?"

"I wish I was, unfortunately, I'm sane" or maybe the world around me is insane? Or maybe what's sane to me is insane to the environment around me?

We reach the building of our hideout with some bags of loot that will last us a week assuming we're conservative. We've been doing nothing but looting and keeping the perimeter monster-less as much as we can. Since there hasn't been any development that we know so far and our info gathering is getting kinda lax, we're also lax.

I'm not really a fan of staying in one place as a hub, as moving from place to place does get me some sort of result. So for now, Nepgear and I devised a way to gather intel within our specialty. Which as I said, is getting lax. Also doesn't seem to help with うずめ's trust issues. But oh well, she's just suspecting me anyway. There's no proof yet that I'm her enemy.

"We're back"

"Welcome back Big Brother" Nepgear greeted me as I put down my bag.

"As much as I'm enjoying looting I don't think we'll have plenty of loot left to find in the coming weeks"

Judging by うずめ's trash disposal that I saw before. And the amount of food that we have and how much stuff we're able to find. We've mostly cleared our initial perimeter and might start looking beyond it very soon.

"But it's not an immediate problem so we'll live for a while"

"That's good to hear"

"Hrmmmm..."

"Oh? What's wrong Big Sis? You seem lost in thought"

"Well… I kinda got dirty finding stuff with Jared and the battle before, but I can't find a shower anywhere I look" that explains why she keeps suggesting detours earlier. Well, I do get her disposition.

"Now that you mention it, I should do that, too. I might smell… not great. That last battle really made me work up a sweat"

"*Sniff* *Sniff*" and a red-haired woman suddenly appears behind my little sister and sniffs from her head to her waist. Is this a new subtle way of sexual harassment? I'll try it on my wife next time.

"Hmmm, I don't think you smell, Gearsy"

"Eeep!" Nepgear jumps away from the sniffing Japanese named girl.

"U-U-U-U-Uzume, what are you doing?!"

"Oh, well, you said you might smell bad, so I sniffed ya to check if you did, but…?" so does this girl have a warped sense of common sense because she's the "only" human here?

"Don't worry. You smell like a good shampoo. There isn't even a hint of stickiness" and now she's saying lines a gigolo would.

"...R-really?" don't get flustered!

"Yeah, I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. That's me in a nutshell" what a gigolo line!

"Thank goodness..."

"Uzume's building up to Nepgear's flag... I never expected her to be wooed by the same gender…" Neptune comments.

"Your Big Sister's starting to get anxious about your future, Nep Jr." she also adds.

"As her Big Brother, I approve of any relationship that will make my Little Sister happy"

"Big Sis! Don't say weird things! And you too Big Brother! Don't just approve things!"

"But your cheeks were getting red, and you were even looking at her with upturned eyes! I can't help but feel suspicious" Neptune says her defense.

"That was because I was embarrassed, and not..."

"Whatever the case, here's a thumbs up as a sign that I support you in any endeavor that you want to engage in"

"Don't throw thumbs up pose with your teeth shining!"

"Ah ha ha ha ha! You three are always so funny!" うずめ laughs. And us three?

"Goodness! This is partly your fault, too!" Nepgear protests.

"Sorry, sorry"

"By the way, whatcha doing here, Uzume? Did you want to see today's loot?" Neptune asks.

"You're looking for a place to bathe, right? We don't have a bath, but I thought I'd tell ya about our replacement for showering" oh nice. We're getting a fanservice scene.

"We do!?"

"Follow me, I'll show you"

* * *

"Well, I kinda expected that I'll be waiting"

*SPLASH!*

"Whoohoo! The water feels so good!" I can hear my wife shouting by the water tank beyond the rooftop door.

"Right? Isn't it even better after a long day?" うずめ said. Yes, also how long are you guys going to take a bath? Haven't you heard of the term gender equality?

You've already guessed it, I can't participate this, in the words of Neptune, fanservice scene. Sadly you have to use your imagination. We're on the same boat, and I swear I _do_ want to see my wife naked. Guilty pleasure wells up inside me and I can't help but let my sadistic side show.

"Yup! Cold water feels the best against a warmed-up body!" using my imagination, she probably has her arms and legs spread wide with a large smile on her face.

"Wow, what an awesome idea to open a hole in a rooftop water tank and use it as a shower. It's like the wisdom of everyday life, or the wisdom of survival instincts!" or the wisdom that comes from the desperation of finding your smell deplorable.

"I've been livin' here for a long while, so this kind of knowledge naturally sinks in" うずめ said.

"Since you're here, you should take a shower with me too, Uzume. It's nice and cool!"

"Errrr… I'll pass" good choice.

"Awww, why not? Are you too embarrassed to take it all of outside?" what a reckless wife I have.

"Well, no, I'm used to that so I've got no reservations towards it, but… um… well..." is this the part where she now feels a tad shame because a man can fill himself ten times over by the sounds of a woman showering?

"Y'know… um... you see..." to be fair to you, うずめ. You're cute. But I'd rather fill myself up with pictures of my wife.

"I got it! You're embarrassed to get naked in front of other people!"

"Gah! Y-You idiot! T-That's not it at all!" oh damn, I was right? I know my description is too self-patronizing.

"And worse yet! There's a guy who is sitting by the door hearing all the splashing and gushing!" I can imagine her pointing by the door.

"Mmmmmmm…!"

"...Looks like you're right on the mark, big sis"

"I-It's not on the mark!"

"We've got you cornered Uzume!" I shouted.

"No, you did not!"

"I-it's not at all like I'm embarrassed to be naked in front of others because I've been alone all this time or anything!" wow, Noire 2.0?

"...Wow… She spilled that out all by herself" Nepgear comments dryly.

"Oh, I know! I'd love to see your super-cool birthday suit, Uzume!" Neptune figured うずめ out already. And I wasn't planning to use it when I feel like it!

"?!" and, according to my imagination, うずめ's heart just skipped a beat.

"I'd like to see you throw your clothes off all dramatically, and take a shower with an awesome splash! C'mon, show me your cool self!"

"If you took a shower au naturale on the rooftop of an abandoned building with no one around, I think it'd be super wild and stylish..."

"Big Sis, I don't think that will..."

"I-I guess it can't be helped. I-If you insist, Nepsy, then I will show you…!"

"No way?! You're actually going to undress?!" Nepgear, my dear little Sister, you've got ways to go before figuring people out.

"Wowiee! You're so stylish, Uzume! You're way past cool, you're awesome!"

"Oooogh… Dammit… This is so embarrassing..." that's your fault.

"...Huh? What did you say, Uzume?" Nepgear asked, her shock must have blocked her ears.

"Wha…? I-I din't say nothin'!" what an outright lie. And I'm using every fiber of my being to stop myself from laughing.

"I'm not embarrassed by this at all! In fact, it feels good to be this liberated!"

"...She seems to be getting desperate..." very.

"But how did you manage to make her undress, Neptune?" Oh no! If my wife reveals うずめ's niche then she'll be very conscious of it now! And the thousands of jokes I can make her do will go down the drain as well!

"I didn't have proof, but ever since we first met, she seemed fixated on being-!"

"Neptune! I promise to make you all your favorites for 1 year straight!" I bargain.

"..." yes! Great cooperation!

"Fixated on what?"

"I can't say"

"Wh-What with that!? Don't just leave me hanging!" alright! With her out of the loop, I won't have to think of ways to make her agree so I can mess with people for my own amusement.

"Aren't you getting in too, Gearsy?"

"She's right! You should jump in, Nepgear. It's the perfect level of chilly to feel good!"

"B-But… um… taking my c-clothes off outside is… It's too embarrassing..."

"You swing that way!?" No, she does not, うずめ! Well as far as I know, at least. Maybe? Does she?

"What're you getting hung up about? We're all girls here, so you don' have to worry about being seen, right?"

"But Big Brother's there!" is she pointing towards the door for dramatic effect?

"As your Big Brother, I will never do something so rude as peek at my Little sister whilst taking a bath"

"But how many times have you walked into me while I was showering!?"

"You're the one that keeps forgetting to lock the door. But hey, I'm complementing whenever I see you so it's no big deal right?"

"It is!?" such an unappreciative woman. And yes, she often forgets to lock the bathroom door. Even after we're so acquainted under one roof.

"Oh, don't worry about Jared. I sometimes wonder if he swings that way too" I'm not gay, Neptune!

"Besides, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to bare it all in the middle of a city like this!"

"I don't think I need that kind of experience..." you definitely need all the experience you can get, kiddo.

"Alright, Nepsy! If it's come to this, let's undress her! I won't forgive you for being the only one not undressing from the embarrassment!"

"Roger!"

"...Eh?" oh, and now my little sister became the rabbit.

"Um, uh..."

"We've got you cornered, Nepgear!" I shout.

"N-Nooooooooo!"

A few rustling noises and the scream of a woman being undressed just for the amusement of her Big Sister and their newly found friend later…

"Oooooh… T-This is way too embarrassing..." you should learn from you Big Sister.

"No one's looking, right?"

"It's fine, there's no one else here but us. Well, except for him" うずめ answered.

"Don't worry about Jared. He's all gentlemanly when it comes to these" Neptune answered. Well, most men are going to fill themselves 11 times over just from hearing this event unfold.

"T-Thank goodness..."

"Still, it's kinda fun to take a shower with everyone like this. Maybe 'cause I was alone for so long, it ends up feeling even better"

"Well then, since we've met like this, we should do a bunch of fun things, you've never done before, Uzume!" Neptune stated.

"We can wash each other's back in the bath, and eat meals together, and lots of other great things with each other!"

"That's right. I'd like to do all sorts of fun things with you too, Uzume"

"Nepsy… Gearsy…" I can hear うずめ's voice cracking up.

"Then it's time to check how much both of you have developed!"

"Woah, Nepsy?!"

"Hyeeek?! P-Please don't touch there!"

"..." and while the screams of embarrassed girls try to run away from someone measuring their growth via there hands. My ears focus on the healthy glee of my wife.

And it's undeniable contrast to it 1 year ago.

"...The world is really cruel..."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

"I'm back" I return from my morning training.

"Welcome back Big Brother. I cooked some egg and bacon" and what greets me is my auspicious Little Sister crouched down by the counter in the middle of the room.

"Nepgear… have you taken your meds?"

"I'm not crazy!" you weren't!?

"Jeez, it's the first thing in the morning and your already teasing me" aww, don't pout.

"If I were to choose between working out to maintain my physique and teasing you all day I'll definitely go for the latter" I grin while raising a thumb at her.

"You're going to lose a Little Sister if you keep teasing her like this"

"I'll still be your Big Brother though" because of legal and moral reasons.

"Then stop teasing your Little Sister"

"Hell no. It's fun"

"Geez" aww, don't pout.

Ending our usual sibling talk, I help myself with the cutlery on the far left. I help myself with the plentiful bacon and eggs that we're lucky that we found while scouting around. I sit right behind Nepgear and lean my back to her. What? Being selfish to my own Little Sister is not bad at all.

"You don't mind? I'm a bit sweaty"

"It's okay. I'll be taking a bath after this and it's warm, Big Brother"

"Glad to hear it" I chew on the bacon.

"Good mor-! Nepu! What's this sibling moment I see!?" a wild Neptune appears!

"Glad you're not telling me this is a cheating moment"

"And a cheating moment!"

"..." how many screws this my wife left on the bed this time?

"Had a good night's rest?"

"Mhm!"

Since there are 4 people here in うずめ's base. 3 of which are girls and 1 is a boy. We decided that it's best that I'll sleep in the common area, mainly this reception room acting as guard for any would-be raiders. The other girls should sleep in the room next to this. Good thing for me since I can enjoy the view of that tower whenever I need some meditation.

"So what's Nep Jr up to?" Neptune peeks at the girl that I'm leaning on.

"I wanted to learn more about this place, so I was gathering information on the internet"

"That is your specialty, after all. So, ya find anything good?" Neptune asked as she looks at my bacon.

"Nothing, yet. Wireless isn't functioning in this area, so I just connected the N-Gear to the net by cable" I promptly point her towards the cutlery and the pan on the mess kit.

"Dial-up?"

"Mhm" I feel old.

"Oooh, that's why the N-Gear has a cable dangling from it. I'll have to be careful not to step on it" she said as she comes back to us, turns around, sits, and leans her back to my left, and her Little Sister's right, sides.

"But even if the information is kind of broken, I did find some things of note, like this map" now we can know the nearest supermarket.

"I'm currently repairing it with a software tool, so once it's done I'm sure we'll find something"

"Ooooooh! I knew we could count on ya. You're super dependable in times like these"

"Hee hee… Really?"

"Yep. Have some bacon" I reach the bacon towards her over her shoulder.

"Thanks, Big Brother. *Nom*"

"Is it me or are you two getting closer and closer?" she turns to look at us suspiciously.

"What's wrong with siblings doing sibling stuff?" I asked.

"Mmmmmmmmmm…" please don't look at me with such disdain.

"Yo, Nepsy. Finally awake, huh? You sleep well?" a wild うずめ appears.

"You betcha! I slept so well, I had a dream about diving into an ocean of pudding"

"Please don't flail the bacon around" I plea as it's oil splatters around.

"The blankets were so warm, too! It's kinda nice living in the stone age. Everything's so slow and simple"

"Well, that's good to hear" うずめ said as she gets herself a plate and some bacon and eggs.

"Hrm? Aren't you going to eat Gearsy?"

"Hm? Oh, it's okay. I already ate so you can take the last of the meal" how considerate of her.

"Okay. Don't mind if I do" she then cleans the pan, and sits on the other side, facing us. We're in a weird formation.

"So, you're still working on… that… thing?"

"Mhm. I've connected my N-Gear to the internet to collect information"

"Huh. That N-Gear thing is pretty amazing if it can connect to the World Wide Web… It's so thin..." wow, I have never heard someone say WWW before. Well, I did but, man. I feel so damn old.

"World Wide Web… This might be the first time I've heard someone use that phrase unironically" Neptune said.

"But is there any usable information on the Web? Most of it's disconnected, and a lot of servers are broke, so I doubt it's functioning properly.

"It's… like you said, in a pretty terrible state, but it looks like public organization and the Basilicom servers are still online" well, government servers are designed to withstand such catastrophes.

"That's where I found map data. Most of the rest of it was broken though" can you also find the nearest supermarket? I'm pretty sure my wife is craving for puddings.

"Oh, also, I found this through hacki-I mean investigating- but is this your BBS, Uzume?" bulletin board system for the uninitiated.

"I thought I heard 'hacking' just now..." Neptune points out.

"R-Really? I-I'm sure it's just your imagination, ah ha ha ha..." what kind of wild imagination do you think we have when we heard you say the word 'hack'?

"What's this BBS you're talkin' about?" うずめ asks.

"It's this bulletin board called 'Dream BBS'. Most of the threads are about safety confirmation, survival reports, or general discussion, it seems" the title of the board does not match the contents.

"From what I can tell, is it possibly just using a freely distributed style sheet? It feels kind of nostalgic"

"Lemme see..." Neptune turns around and peeks at the N-gear.

"'Show of hands, who's living' '/' '/' '/' 'I'm le ded' '- ur alive dumbass'"

"What a lively community" I commented.

"Man, this BBS really gives off the feeling of when the internet had first started spreading. Maybe I'll post something too, since I can"

"Oh, that thing! I started that board a long time ago" and now these 2 excited-driven goals are now easing on the N-gear.

"...I forgot my password, though. I was never able to manage it decently" from my experience, BBS gets more and more clusterfucked as time goes on. Especially controversial topics.

*BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!*

"Sounds like a call, Nep Jr."

"Huh? That doesn't sound like mine"

"Oops, that's mine" うずえ said as she brings up her wrist.

"That device on Uzume's wrist, is that…?"

" _Uzume, good to hear from you. I'm relieved you're still with us_ " and a very deep and manly voice comes through the speaker.

"Well, hey, that giant's still out there; I'm not gonna bite the dust just yet. What's up? You don't usually check in this early..."

" _I'll get right to it. You do remember how we've evacuated to the next town over?_ "

"Of course"

" _Apparently, the Baby Bugs who live here have found a share crystal. I was very surprised_ " more opportunities for transformation scenes.

"Really?!"

" _Let's not get too excited yet. I still need to verify that it wasn't a fabricated report_ "

"O-Oh, okay. Got it. Thanks. Sorry for jumping the gun there"

" _No need to apologize. I'll be in touch_ "

"Hey, Uzume, that was the same guy you were talking to some days ago, right?"

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced him to you yet, huh? He'll be back soon, I'll introduce him soon enough" finally, I can now have a fellow male companion. It's getting quite lonely being the only guy in a group of girls.

"...Well, I'm gonna start making my rounds and patrol the city for a bit" down her breakfast all in one go. She puts the plate on the empty pan.

"Patrolling again? What for?"

"I haven't seen some monsters lately. So maybe they'll come popping out after some time. I just want to make sure" a very sound argument.

"Hmmmm. I think I'll tag along and patrol with you. Not like I'll be doing anything here" and with that she down her entire breakfast in one go.

"Gearsy? Jarsy? What about you two?"

"Hmm. Sure. I'll come along as well. I might make some sort of discovery, too" Nepgear accepted the offer. She puts pressure on my back telling me she needs to stand.

"I'll stay. I need to see a few things" I decline the offer as I let my Little Sister stand up.

"Oh, we do need someone to keep watch. We'll be sure to bring back something cool" Neptune said.

"Please bring back some sort of rare earth metal"

"Since Jarsy is staying. I guess we won't have to worry about some monster that will attack the base. Alright, then. Let's move out"


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

"Seems Neptune is okay" I take a look at the calendar on my phone.

"2 weeks more eh? Damn time sure flies..." I'm pretty sure Nepgear knows it too.

"I wish these happy events for her cushions it" but even I know that it won't end up like how I hoped to.

"It's 2 more weeks. I'll deal with it when we get there" I shake off the looming shadow that's been slowly creeping up on me and redirect my focus.

"Okay, what should I do next?"

I've been in the middle of fortifying our base. I'm lucky that it's slightly fortified already and all I need to do is just add a few finishing touches here and there. I've already put some of our stock supplies in an off-site base in case this place goes down. Luckily, うずめ had seen the practicality of it.

I also relocated the rest of our supplies away from our usual resting grounds such as this reception area which we use as the living room. But not too far away in which going back and forth isn't a pain and harder to keep watch.

"The next thing is traps then..." I don't really need to go that far into capturing some raiders or random monsters that roam in the middle of the night. All I need are some deterrents to keep them away.

For example, if you put some strings on the ground. Human raiders will get cautious. Amateurs will probably notice that 2 or 3 of them are dummies, not knowing the 4th is the real trap. In my time with the army, anything can be seen as a threat. Even if one is a dummy, we took extra caution with each one making their advancement slow.

"Hrmmm… I don't want to use the supplies that I have right now..." I do have some idea on what to do, but…

"If I knew I'd need some deterrents I would have gone with them..." I'll probably find some things in the nearby buildings.

 _Big Brother…_

"..." my eyes dart towards somewhere. Towards the stairs leading to the ground floor. I walk to the edge of the stairs, my instincts are all tingling.

And there, by the entryway, where the light comes peering through from the outside world. A shadow is there. I figured that I recognize and not recognize at the same time. My instincts are giving me alarms. All of them sound off familiarly. Something is there. Of course, there is. What could be creating that shadow?

"Is that you..."

"..."

"Sis…-!" the shadow moves away, running towards the left.

Do I follow it? If it is what I'm suspecting then I have to stop it. Either that or get to where Neptune is. It's not that I don't trust that they can't handle it. The question is _if_ they can handle it. My cell doesn't have a signal which sucks because I really do want to contact Nepgear right now. But if I do follow it, I might be lead to either a trap or our base being ruined when I get back.

"Not presenting much of a choice, eh..." if うずめ sees that the base is destroyed when they get back, she'll flip.

Well now, there's really only one thing I can do.

[Line Break]

" _Big Brother..."_

" _Nepgear..."_

" _Did you..."_

 _I shake my head._

" _...!"_

" _I'm sorry. Can I go take a rest? I've been running around the whole city for the past 6 weeks"_

 _I didn't wait for her my Little Sister's response. I walk past her. And headed straight for the second floor above via the slope. Somehow my legs feel heavy. Well, of course, I've been doing nothing but fruitlessly run around._

" _Damn it..." Damn it_

 _Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it._

 _Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it._

 _Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!_

 _DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!_

 _GODFUCKIN DAMNIT!_

 _*BAM!* *BAM!**BAM!**BAM!*_

" _What in…! Jared! Get a hold of yourself!"_

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"_

" _Jared!"_

[Line Break]

 _Brother_ …

"Where is this thing leading me?"

It's like I'm chasing a ghoul. Or it might be one. Its presence is always there and yet it somehow slips away from me. It's shadows cast from corners. And the moment I chase it and turn to that corner, it somehow teleports to the next. At other times, I get glimpses of someone peeking from the corner, but it lasts for half a second before it disappears.

My instincts are on high alert. Its presence is the only one I can sense. There's nothing chasing me or anything of the sort. I'm moving as fast as my legs could take me. Without sacrificing my momentum, I purposely turn in a wide curve, and if my turn isn't enough, I sometimes jump and do a wall run that I'm about to crash into.

I exit an alleyway, and 30 degrees to the right, I see a glimpse of a figure entering towards a structure from the other side of the street.

"The subway system?"

I run across the street and see that it is indeed the subway system.

"And it's awfully bright" honestly, the subway looks more appealing to live in than above ground.

From the stairs alone, it looks like the subway hasn't been touched by the same armageddon feel as above ground. Everything seems to be working as it should from the looks of it. Electricity is flowing, and a holographic sign on some ad campaign about a new kind of mango-shake is colorfully displayed.

The tiles are colored dark blue and the gaps in between take on a neon-blue which glows by the LED strips underneath it. The edges of the stairs glow in yellow, signaling to watch your step.

"But hey, if that giant starts stomping we might get caved in" which is bad.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

"Oh wow, this subway looks like Planeptune's alright" well it does look the part with all the futuristic look.

I walk the empty subway system with my steps echoing. This place is massive and bright. As mentioned last chapter, electricity here still functions as opposed to the ground above. There are some holographic boards here and there still playing their advertisements such as "free coke". The gaps in between the tiles all have a neon blue glow on them. The ceiling lights light up in the same hue as well. Combined, they brighten up everything, leaving little to no shadows.

Now my problem is that I don't know where the shadow is. Since it's always been casting shadows, this place will make it hard for that thing to project itself.

Right now, I'm at the ticketing area where it's so large that you could even fit a 2 basketball courts side by side. How dense was this version of Planeptune's population? There are plants here and there, obviously withered from the lack of water support, and some pairs of charging stations.

I walk up to the empty ticket boot and inspected it. There isn't anything much to inspect since the computer is off and the seat seemed to be not in use for a very long time. Well, how in the hell am I going to get the ticket to ride the train then?

I walk towards the ticket gate, which is right beside the ticket booth, and jumped over it with ease.

*SQZZZ!*

"-!"

What the hell? The air around me suddenly changed. No. The floor suddenly changed. Am I standing on a fence? No, wait. Why the hell am I standing _on_ a fence? My instincts scream left and right. It's shouting "this is bad, this is bad" over and over again at me.

The walls around are dripping red blood. The ceiling above has an Edison light bulb, giving the room an eery color. The room has shrunk. From the warehouse-like size of the station to a small room akin to the detention center in a high-security prison. Claustrophobics will have a field day.

The fenced floor seems to keep me from falling into a pit. A bottomless hole that will hurt your eyes as you peer through it. There's a hallway directly to my left. It eerily beckons me to walk through it.

The smell is putrid. It's as if I can almost taste the bloody raw meat from a fresh kill. But instead of fresh, it seems almost decaying. As though a chef miscalculated the days of how long his meat must be dry-aged and served it raw to his customers.

The narrow hallway gets darker and darker, as the light behind me gets further and further behind me. Each step echoes the metallic sounds of the fence around me. My instincts are screaming at me with every step.

I walk towards the slowly but surely dark hallway. I can't see anything. I'm too far away from the Edison lightbulb. The darkness welcomes me as though I'm its prodigal son. I don't stop moving forward. I put my foot in front of me and repeat the process. Until I...

"...A wall..." is that why the hall was dark? Either case, there's nothing for me to go other than to go to the room with the Edison lightbulb.

I turn around and sta-!

"..."

*SQZZZ!*

 _Big Brother..._

*SQZZZ!*

What the hell...

The moment my sight turns to look back that hall. I'm back at the bright neon-blue, subway station. I'm now looking at the ticket gate which I just jumped over. My instincts calmed down, telling me that the threat had just passed.

"...This is fucked up..." too fucked up. Worst off, I'm not getting headaches.

"...Rather than contemplating..." I head towards the stairs that are on my right.

I walk down the stairs, letting the yellow LED strips of light on the edges of the stairs to guide me. The moment I land on the landing, my instincts told me to hide, which I did. I take a peek towards the platform and found some monsters roaming around. Well, not really monsters but mostly robots. Human-shaped robots to be exact.

"Is it time for 'hasta-la-vista baby'?" there's at least, 3 of them for my point of view. There might be more given how they're not that far apart from each other.

This is Planeptune alright. But giant AI-powered robots roaming around a station platform isn't too far off I guess. I mean, Elon Musk vehemently tells people that AI might kill the world. And I've been using every fiber of my being to quench Nepgear's desire to make a remote-controlled robot out of our every home.

"Maybe they're friendly..." yeah, they might be friendly.

With comfort in mind, I headed straight towards the platform. The moment my feet lands on the platform, suddenly all of them turns towards me.

"Oh, shit" oh shit is right. And as I was about to describe my next thoughts, these things started running towards me.

2 of them dashed towards from both of my sides. They raised their metallic fist and throws it towards me. I quickly ducked down, letting the fists collide one another. I use this chance to count how many of them are there.

2 here, 1 that's currently right in front of me, checking off the 3 earlier. There's 4 more running towards me in the background. All in all, it's 7 of them. I can't fight them with my bare fists, I'll risk breaking my bones.

' _Dodging is going to be the only thing that I'm going to do now_ ' well it's going to serve as good cardio.

The one robot that is coming towards me is raised its fist and throws its punch at me. I roll forward towards its side, letting the metallic punch hit the tiles.

*BAM!*

As I recover, instincts pointed out that there's something behind me. I jump from one knee and flip in mid-air as I align over the robot's head. And as I fall towards the ground behind me, I grab its head and twisted it.

At least, I tried to.

I can't get enough power from my arms to twist it. I can feel that it's almost there, as I've already broken the mechanical limiter for its neck. I land on the ground and jump back. On my right a robot dangerously close and has its leg swinging towards me. I step to the side letting its momentum propel it past me.

As it does, another comes right after, this time swinging an uppercut. Getting hit by this dude might make a certain nurse strangle me with her bandaging. Anything but that. I lean and step back. It's fist almost grazing my chin. The robot that just missed me, has repositioned itself behind me and is about to slam both of its fists on my head.

My brain overclocks and I let my knees buckle for me. I land on the ground back first, as I do, he swings his fists like a hammer towards my head.

*BAM!*

Before it hits me, I quickly redirect its attack to the right side of my head. Smashing the tiled floor on my side. Wow, that could kill a person right there.

*BAM!*

"...Wow, they can even jump" well, they are androids, after all. Of course, they can.

One other robot, the 7th one, jumps towards and ceiling. Digs it's fingers and toes on the ceiling and then jumps towards me.

Shit!

*BAM!*


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

*BAM!*

Now then, what to do, I have 7 robots all wants a piece of me and I don't have the means to fight. Well, I do but I'm not too eager to fight these things. Oh, what the hell, I'm just making excuses to make myself look cool at this point. But I really don't want my bones to break because they hurt a lot.

"No pain no gain then!"

I flip in the air, and land on the ground as rubbles of and debris of the ceiling above falls down around me. I stand up and stretch a bit.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

7 robots surrounded me, their red eyes coldly analyze me. They stand up straight, showing off their giant frame. We're on another station platform. Yes, the same one as above. Their joints don't break as much as I had hoped. It's either I need to cut them apart or I need to pry open their chests and pull out their engines. And I can't hope for either.

And the robots around me walk towards me sinisterly, I take a fighting stance and look around my surroundings.

"Okay... two at a time please..." I plea.

Good thing they listened to me because 2 of them walks up to me first. And since there's 7 of them, I'll mark them for you guys to understand.

The 1st one on the right swings its right arm to me. I duck underneath the attack. As I rise, the 2nd thrusts a jab at me with its left, I sway my body to the side. With his free arm, it then performs a hook punch. My forward knee buckled, pulling my body down as I move forward, evading its attack.

Straightening up, another terminator, the 3rd, suddenly appeared and thrusts the sole of its feet towards my core. I sidestep and push the leg towards the side. As I do so, the 4th comes to my side and swings a roundhouse towards my head. I lean back to save myself from being beheaded.

The 5th one comes over behind me with its fist raised and about to land on my face. I duck, anticipating inertia to take over its arm completely missing me. But it suddenly steps forward and pulled back the punch. An uppercut comes rushing instead. There's no room for me to move!

' _Too bad...!_ '

*SWING!*

"...!"

' _...I've got plenty of tricks on me!_ '

As it's cold metallic fist hits my chin. I trace its upward movement with my head, cushioning the force. My chin is raised up in the air, with little to no damage at all. I lower my head immediately and palm strikes the robot.

*PANG!*

"..."

"..." well, I knew it's not going to work.

Its armor is too thick and its hold on itself is too strong. Honestly, I think I'm getting rusty. X years of perpetual peace and quiet is really bad. Granted, I have been fighting monsters left and right to somehow keep me sharp, but it makes you complacent. Is this what it means to soldiers who can't immediately fit into modern society after retiring from service?

So with that said, I'm going to tell myself that I'm fighting a fucking statue that occasionally moves.

With that said though, the 6th terminator is running towards me. It jumps and straightens it's leg towards me, performing a flying kick at me with a velocity of a fish jumping out of the water. I duck under, letting it fly over me.

Then without giving me time to rest, the 7th terminator sways its body as it dashes in dangerously close to me. As though it's a professional boxer, its guard is up as it swings a series of combinations at me.

It jabs with it's right, I lean back. Then as it pulls it back, swings it to a hook punch. I duck under it. It steps forward, switching positions instantly. It throws a quick jab with its left. Slightly moved my head to the side, avoiding the attack by a hair. Its right straight launches in a timely manner. I raise both of my arms, managing to parry it.

"...!" it suddenly sidesteps.

"...!"

The sirens from my instincts go off, 3 terminators are coming in hot behind me. There's three terminators, 5th, 1st, and 2nd. As I step back and ready myself for the assault, 5th and 2nd terminators jump and perform a jumping heel kick. While the 1st terminator performs a flying back kick. I jump back as soon my back foot lands on the ground, letting the jumping heel kick miss me. Then I block the jumping back kick with the palm of my hands.

"...!"

Shit! I managed to fucking avoid myself getting injured but holy shit am I flying. I land on the ground, maybe 5ft away from them, almost falling off the platform and onto the rails. Wait a sec... I'm in the train station... and there's electricity so...

*BAM!*

Disrupting my thoughts, the 3rd terminator suddenly appears on my left side with a roundhouse kick towards my gut. I flip forward in the air with a 180 degree twist, facing the terminator as I land. With it's leg still raised in the air from missing it's kick, it performs a reverse roundhouse towards my head.

*BAM!*

"...!"

"When did...?!" Shit! These guys are fucking relentless!

The 6th terminator is about to clothesline my lower back and it's coming in at dangerous speeds.

Metallic attacks from above and blow misses me. As I land, the 6th terminator's clothesline hits the 3rd's pivot leg.

*CLASH!*

Its pivot leg comes flying off cleanly as its upper body slams towards the station's floor. Its leg lands on the rails and...

*SQZZZZZZZ!*

Sparks of electricity jolt out in a flash and the smell of burnt bacon flows out.

"Okay...!" thank you very much for proving my hypothesis, Terminator.

The 4th terminator charges towards me from the front. Aiming to shoulder tackle me by the gut. I jump over it right before it tackles me. Unable to stop inertia, it jumped off from the station platform and lands on the electrical rails.

*SQZZZZZZZ!*

Well, it took only a flash of electricity but it collapsed from overturning.

Not forgetting the 6th terminator on my side, still on one knee, and kicked it's head to keep it there. I perform a back kick using my pivot foot, making sure it's head doesn't turn towards me. As my foot lands on the ground, I jump back.

*CLASH!*

The 7th terminator suddenly swoops in from the air and clashed with the 6th terminator. Both of them jumps off the platform and hits the rails of the track. Both of them were electrocuted until shutdown. That's 3, 4 more to go.

"...!"

The 3rd terminator that lost its leg grabs my leg as though it's for dear life. I try to shake it off, but it's not even budging.

"Shit...!" is this guy...!?

3 terminators are coming towards me. 5th and 1st terminator comes up to me first. Their tall frame looks down on me as though I am a being unworthy of their presence. Both them takes a boxing stance, and without giving me any time to ready myself, they fired off their punches.

*SWING!* *SWING!**SWING!**SWING!*

It's like I'm dodging bullets. Wherever my head and body goes, there's another coming right after me.

*SWING!**SWING!**SWING!**SWING!*

I can't move my left leg, this one-legged terminator is keeping me in place.

*SWING!**SWING!**SWING!**SWING!*

They're slowly cutting off my escape. Forcing me to think of new routes to dodge. It's like playing rapid chess but I'm facing 5 grandmasters all at once!

*SWING!**SWING!**SWING!**SWING!*

"..!"

All of a sudden, the barrage of swings, jabs, uppercuts, hooks, and straights suddenly came to a halt as both of them suddenly weaves to either side.

"..!"

Instincts suddenly came over and pulled me to the side. A flying kick just passed me that was flying at bullet speed. To the point that electricity is coming out of him. The 5th terminator lands on the railing and... you know what happened to it. I don't want to describe it again.

The 1st terminator moved right back in front of me and then continues what it was doing to me earlier. It swings its metallic fists at me, I can weave through them easily now. Still, they're like bullets being fired from 2 Gatling guns.

The 2nd one comes over to my left side, and swings from below. So low in fact that its fist is barely touching the floor. Is it doing the infamous Smash by Razor Ruddock? Too bad that guy was my coach for 2 months!

I duck under the 1st terminator's hook. I grab the 3rd terminator's leg as I do so. And as I rise, I lift the leg up and intercept it with the 2nd terminator's smash punch.

*CLASH!*

Because of how powerful the smash is, I put my right leg on the 3rd terminators back and we were sent flying towards the wall on the other side of the railings. The 3rd terminator's grip suddenly loosened. I jumped from it's back and reached out towards a small ledge. The terminator lands on the railings and got electrocuted.

I grabbed the ledge with my right hand and planted both of my feet on the wall. There's 2 mo-!

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

*BAM!*


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

"Well fuck me crazy…" this has gone rather crazier than I expected it to be.

Do you remember that wingless dragon that Uzume keeps calling mutt? Yeah, that one. The one that throws fireballs at us while as we dodge around. Did you remember? Well, it's back with a vengeance of course. I mean, the way it comes crashing down from the ceiling above shows how much it's butthurt from being punched by Uzume.

"What a sore loser" I just have to make a joke about it; I have to.

*GRRRRR…!*

And he heard me, not like I wasn't whispering anyway. It looks at me with its serpent eyes, the slit on its iris is staring at me as though wanting to kill me in 145 different ways. As this thing does so, I'm also trying to think of a way to either run away or kill it with my bare hands.

"As much as I really want to do it, I think I should better-!"

*BANG!*

"Oh come on!" you should let me finish my sentences dammit!

It fired a fireball at me. I quickly run along the groove that I've been holding with one hand as my original position explodes into burnt cement. I could even feel the heat from here. It's so damn hot that I could feel it take into a solid mass and slam onto me.

"Shit…" looks like the little puppy here really wants to play.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

It fired 3 fireballs at me. I jump down, towards the platform missing the fireball's trajectory by the hair. As I land on the edge of the platform, I quickly look for the rest of the fireballs. The second fireball's trajectory changed and homed in on me. I jump forward at the last second, letting it hit the platform and destroying a chunk of it.

"…!" the third fireball is dangerously close to me on my left. Is that thing able to change the trajectory of its fireballs from its spin and calculating how I'm going to react? Or is it just homing in on me in a weird way? Whatever it is. I shouldn't take it lightly as much as I did before.

*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

The thing emulates a flamethrower and breathes out fire like a stream from my right sweeping towards me. As the two attacks get closer, I jump back immediately and use the passing fireball as cover to block the stream of flames at me. Taking this small opportunity, I run to my left getting away from the sweeping fire.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

"Woah…!" some giant rocks pass by behind me. I look at the wingless dragon and saw the tail curved up as though it had just whipped something.

"Now it's throwing rocks!?" holy shit does Darwin's theory work wonders.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

Putting aside my fascination for intelligence in other lifeforms, it uses its tail to sweep the ground of debris and hurl them towards me like a bullet. Instincts pull me and pushes me as I run, dodging the attacks at the last second. There are at least 20 steps between me and the stairs, if I reach that then I have a chance to get out of the station before I-!

*BAM!* *BAM!*

"Damn…" in a typical fashion of clichés, the mutt threw a rock at the ceiling which collapsed the concrete above and blocks the stairs.

I look at the wingless dragon as I slowly catch my energy and breath. It's serpent eyes glares at me, telling me that it wants to even out the score here and now. Really capitalizing on the fact that I have no idea on how to beat it right now. Its tails whip the floor and flames in between its mouth rages.

*GRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

"Fine, already. Let's play…"

The moment I said that the thing charges at me as though it can't wait to smother me into the wall and turn me into a giant piece of wall art. Each step it makes rumbles the earth beneath me; standing my ground I brace for impact as its horns come close.

*BAM!*

*GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

"Too bad, you're too big" I dodged at the very last moment, the mutt's horns pierces the wall, making him stuck.

"Too bad you're too big" it's not rocket science that the bigger you the more newtons you need to move your body around. Especially when you need to turn quickly.

Thinking that it's time to run away, I head straight for the other staircase on the far side of the platform. I can hear the thing struggle as it tries to pull away from its sticky situation. Yes, I know, bad pun. I take no chances and sprint towards the staircase as fast as my legs could take me.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

I take a quick look and saw the thing stomping around, seemingly throwing a tantrum on why it can't get its horns out from the wall. Its feet shake the very train station that I'm on, dust falling from the ceiling, each stomp it makes has an accompanying sound of what seems like something is breaking. Its tail and roars contribute to the shaking and vibrations.

*BAM!*

*ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

"Shit, that didn't last long…" the thing managed to forcefully pull itself out sacrificing one of its horns. It screams in pain before it looks at me with its raged now 100 times more than it was before.

"Tsk… You do know I'm unarmed here…" I've been trying to get away from this guy because I really have nothing to work something on him. I don't know if the electric railing would work but it seems its scales are thick enough to insulate everything and anything.

Suddenly… instincts pinged me for something…

"Well I better holdout for a few more seconds then…!"

*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

Suddenly, it fires 8 fireballs towards the ceiling and immediate changes direction towards me. I run towards the right. The fireballs home in on me, changing their trajectory once they've established where I'm at. Keeping my pace, I let the fireballs come close before I speed at the last moment.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

I jump, roll, and recover. As I do, the mutt is already dangerously close to me about a few more feet before the horn in its chin pierce me. I quickly gather strength and dive towards the right. When I did, the tail swings over me its wind rushes past me. I jump to my feet and continue circling it as it turns towards me.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

It raises its claw and smashes towards me. I quickly face the mutt and swayed to the side.

*BAM!*

Dust puffed from where the claw landed. It raises the other one and swings it horizontally towards me. I take 3 steps back.

*SWING!*

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

It suddenly roars a stream of fire at me. I quickly make a break for it; continue circling around him as the stream of fire follows me. The wingless dragon drawing a circle with its fire on the ground, it suddenly changed tactics and swings its tail at the debris, hurling them right at me.

I quickly slide, change direction, and run towards the opposite direction. It quickly shoots a fireball at me. I jump into the air and it misses. But that's what it was hoping as its claw suddenly appears in front of me, ready to strike me down and shred me into a million pieces.

"Haaaaaaaa…!"

*SWING!*

*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

Landing, I turn and look at the wingless dragon moaning at its lost claw. The claw that suddenly detached from it is now laying on the ground with blood dripping. The arm from where the claw was on, is now spurting out blood. The dragon's eyes are wide, and whimpers in pain like a dog that had just lost its master and is waiting for his return.

I turn towards the perpetrator that's done such a horrible thing to it.

"Where've you been, Neptune?"

* * *

 _A/N: Hello! I'm back! And I've been cleared of my thesis! I'm still waiting for results but now that I'm free so let's get right down to it.  
_ _First: Terribly sorry for the inconsistent updates, now that I'm free, I'm going to keep updating until my fingers no longer move!  
_

 _Second: There's a story that I have been writing on my notebook in the background for a while now, and I've been cooking it ever since. If you guys are interested, look at my social media pages/patre-on post (free to view). It's called "My (not so much) ordinary days" (I am terrible with names I know.) The other one is a story that my artist is cooking up. But if you guys are interested, please let me know, there's a poll on my profile for it.  
_

 _Third: My artist is also interested if you guys are interested in character adoptions. If you don't know what that is, don't worry, I don't know either. The logistics of it is Artist makes characters, post it up, see if you guys like it, and then you buy it. I dunno about customization and anything of that sort but if there are any inquiries please PM me._

 _Fourth: This is rather personal but I want to write full time. And I want to make stories full time. I've already experienced working in my field and honestly, it's not_ that _fun. So I've changed my agenda on the purpose of my patre-on. I want to live my dream of telling stories. So I humbly would like to tell everyone to be a patron over at my patre-on. There isn't much content, I know, but I'll be sure to fill it little by little._

 _And Fifth: Everyday chapter updates again?  
_


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

"Hello! The ranger of love and light is here to save the day!" she dramatically poses. Where's the explosion?

"Where's Nepgear and Uzume?"

"Oh, they're right… Nepu! Where are they?!" she just noticed that there isn't anyone behind her.

"I think I got them lost? Ehe~" that's even worse of a situation.

"No biggie. We can look for 'em together!"

"*Sigh* Well, at least I got some backup" I have to admit, I can't take on this dragon with just my bare hands. And seeing that it withstood Uzume's punch, even caving this place in along with me would just add more irritation on its forehead.

*ROOOOAAAAAAAR!*

The dragon roars at us. Roars from the pain of having its claw sliced off. Roared from the irritation. And roared at the person that cut off its claw.

"Nepu! This one is really pissed!"

"Not really. He just wants our attention. He's been demanding a good play before you arrived"

"Oh? Really?"

"Yep. We could humor this guy or just leave him be"

"Nah. I think he'll just follow us"

"That's true. So? Let's play?"

"I'm rarin' to go!"

Just as she said that a sword appears in front of me, I take it before it starts to fall. Taking a stance, both of us face the one-clawed dragon. The dragon stops screaming and looks at us with eyes of a bull readying its horns. Without waiting for some sort of signal I lunge forward.

I reach the dragon in only 2 strides. It fires a fireball at me. I quickly take a step back and dash forward as I duck low to the ground. As I recover, Neptune is already in the air, from a jump I presume, and is about to stab the sword on the dragon's head.

"..!"

*CLASH!*

Seeing that attack, the dragon swings its tail at her. She readjusts the placement of her sword and blocks the attack, throwing her back a few feet.

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAR!*

"Don't look at away at your enemies!" because they just might stab you.

Angry. It fires a stream of flames at me. I pulled the sword and jump back just in time. Its stream of flames doesn't stop as it readjusts its aim from the ground and towards me. But just as the flames get close, Neptune comes flying from out of nowhere and stabs the dragon on the back.

*ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAR!*

It stops spitting fire and flinches. I take the chance to run towards him. It raises its only claw and smashes it on me.

*BAM!*

Instincts pulled me to the side, avoiding me turning into a meaty paste. I run up on his chest and jump as high as I could over his head.

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

From above I can see Neptune has her sword stuck on the spine of the wingless dragon. She must've realized that and started twisting and jerking the sword, causing unbelievable pain on the dragon's part. I let gravity do my thing and swing my sword down on his head.

*CLASH!*

"Tsk I missed" the dragon's twisting caused me to miss my mark.

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

The dragon flinches, flails, and rampages, trying to get Neptune off his back. I don't waste time and start cutting the dragon's skin in any way I want.

*SLASH!* *SLASH!* *SLASH!* *SLASH!*

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

I cut its chest first, opening it up until I can see the muscle under its thick hide. Instincts pulled me towards the stomach, as the dragon smashes the ground where I was at. Landing I continue cutting the dragon's skin.

*SLASH!* *SLASH!* *SLASH!* *SLASH!*

*ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!*

"Nepu! I don't think I can hold much longer!" hearing my wife say those words, I back off and duck while in mid-air, the tail went over my head.

The moment I land I dash forward towards its head. Neptune can barely hold on as she resists the force of physics being thrown at her. The dragon rises, pivots as it lands on the ground. Blinded by pain, I managed to sneak in under it.

"Neptune!" hearing my voice, she removes the sword from the dragon's spine and runs across the spine towards the head. She jumps high into the air, as she reaches the height of her jump, she raises her sword.

As she falls, I run up the dragon's chest and jumps towards its chin. With both of our weapons ready, we both cut the through the dragon's hide. Decapitating it. I jump away avoiding the rain of blood that's about to pour. Neptune does so as well, managing to keep her jacket white.

It's headless body slowly falls with a thud.

"Big Siiiis! Slow do… Oh my goodness a dragon!"

"Hey, Nepsy… Wait, what the hell happened here…?"

"Looks like the gang is all here then…"

On top of the first landing of the stairs, I see 2 familiar girls. Their eyes are glued to the dead wingless dragon and the surroundings being so charred and smell like burnt steak. One look and they already know what had just occurred. They scan the area and found Neptune and I walking towards them.

"Big Brother… So that's why Big Sis ran…" Nepgear said as she comes down.

"I honestly don't know what happened though…"

"Isn't this the mutt that we failed to finish off, how did it get here?" Uzume asked.

"I can only guess, but perhaps it ran away from us and ended up here" Nepgear guessed.

"And it's dead now because of Jared being cool and all" Neptune adds.

"Nah. Neptune did most of the work"

"...That's pretty impressive taking the mutt down…" with suspicious eyes, Uzume praised.

"I had some help…" I answered honestly.

"What are you doing here, Big Brother?"

"I happened to stumble in here… or something like that" I honestly don't know what happened.

"I could ask the same to you guys, what are you doing here? Last I check you three were patrolling"

"Well, something came up and we had to go save Umio" Nepgear answered.

"Umio? Who's that?"

"It's the deep manly voice from beyond the speaker!"

"Really? Now that I am very interested in" I do wonder the face of the man with a deep and calming voice that is coming out of the Uzume's speakers.

"And we've made friends with a lot of Baby Bugs too. Let's take you there!" Neptune excitedly pulls.

* * *

"…"

"Tada! Here's Umio!"

"…Uh… huh" what exactly am I looking at. It's a fish… a blue fish with yellow fins and a human face. And it's floating in the air. No, wait, swimming in the air. What kind of fish are you? How do you breathe? How do you have a larynx? Can you grow arms and legs? A billion questions in my head and just staring at you is not going to get me the answers.

"Ah. And you must be?" it's a deep and calm voice that I am all too familiar with from Uzume's calls escapes his mouth.

"I'm Jared, a passerby" I answered. I want to give out my hand for a handshake but Umio doesn't even have hands.

"So you must be the 4th friend that Uzume has made friends with"

"Indeed I am" I take a look at Uzume's face, she doesn't seem too bothered.

"Despite his fishy appearance, his voice is godly and his lines are so refined and smooth!" Neptune exclaimed.

"Hrm…" taking a look at my surroundings, I take a peek at the crowd behind Umio. A crowd of what seems like fish with 8 legs. I think I remember that we have monsters as friends and that we were defending their escape route.

"…Ah. So that' why…" they were suddenly attacked and somehow contacted Uzume to help them out.

"It seems you've understood our disposition," Umio said.

"Well more or less. Were you attacked by a fire-breathing mutt of sorts?"

"Though I don't know if you could classify it as a dog yes, we were attacked by a fire-breathing monster"

"It was scary!" one of the fishes with 8 legs adds.

"But thanks to Uzume and friends we're saved!" another adds.

"How could we ever thank you all…?" another fish-with-8-legs adds.

"It's no big deal. You guys found a share crystal for me after all" Uzume responds to their heartfelt thanks.

"Uzume, here. This is what the Baby Bugs discovered" from Umio's, uh, somewhere? He pulled out a rock glittering with an array of colors. Uzume takes it and puts it in her pocket like it's a matter of fact.

"Thanks, everyone"

"Let us return for now. I'm sure you're all tired" Umio suggested.

* * *

A/N: Hello guys. I'm back. Something happened to me personally and I was bummed out from writing. And yes, it happened right after I posted the last chapter. It took me some time to get my mojo back. So I'm really sorry for making you guys wait. Don't worry, the worst of the storm had just passed.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

"…Nothing happened, eh?"

Looking at the floor, I can't find any footprints or anything out of the ordinary that happened while I was gone. Deducing that something wants me specifically, and not the various stuff we have to keep us alive. That's good news, that means that Uzume won't cut my neck anytime soon. She's really suspecting me of being a giant turned human.

"Gets me to enjoy this moment" for a while at least.

"Let's celebrate Umio's rescue, everyone! Cheers!" Neptune raised her beer glass. And no, that's really beer.

"Cheers!" the rest of us cheered as we bumped glasses in the air.

*Chunk!*

After we rescued our fishy friend here, we immediately returned and held a party as per Neptune's behest. We prepped some beer. Yes, you heard me right. Beer. It's beer without alcohol by the way. And the food to go along with it is…

"Cheers… is what I wish to say, but why is this a roasted fish party?" our floating friend asks as he looks at the roasted fish we have prepared.

"Well, this is the only food I had on hand" Uzume answered. True, breakfast earlier this morning was the last of it.

"I understand what you are saying, and I also understand that fish is the most abundant nutritional resource in the area…" Umio nods in acceptance, how he nods is beyond me.

"But, for me, this is basically cannibalism… And this is freshwater fish, at that…!" it's a first for everything.

"Ohh… yeah… right. Sorry"

"Hey, at least it goes well with the non-alcohol beer we got" I said as I take a pinch of the fish with my fork. After I drink a tad, I pop the fish meat into my mouth. Goes really well.

"How about some krill?" Neptune asked our floating fish.

"Krill? Hm. Well, perhaps. I will partake" Neptune starts frying the Krill we have.

"I'm sorry, too, Umio. We wanted to celebrate your return but we didn't really know how to prepare anything very elaborate…" Nepgear apologizes.

"I can make simple sweets, but when it comes to meals, it's not really my strong suit… That'll be Big Brother's specialty… though, he kinda does everything in the kitchen"

"Yup! He comes up with unique food every lunch and dinner! It's like his head is a cookbook!" Neptune adds.

"Nonsense… as much as I have a plethora of dishes in my head, I can see my future protégé in you Nepgear" I am honestly baffled by her level of growth. She could get me chased out of the kitchen real soon.

"It's nothing you need to apologize for, Gearsy. The gesture is good enough for me. Thank you" Umio reassured her.

"By the way, what do you two usually eat? I can't imagine there are many other things available aside from canned foods" Nepgear asked.

"When necessary, we do utilize our canned goods, but normally, Uzume prepares meals with anything she can find out there" Umio answered.

"Granted, they're simple dishes, of course, and we generally season and heat the gathered ingredients to create our meals"

"Oooooh! You guys should have your own survival reality show or something!" starring Bear Grills, Neptune?

"So, have you ever eaten locusts or snakes or frogs before?"

"Ugghh! Nepsy! No freakin' way! Ewww, slimy little frog legs… Totally gross!" please apologize to all the frog eaters out there, Uzume.

"Uzume, language," Umio tells her, and she coughed and gulped.

"…" does she really need to hide it?

"Yeah, no way in hell I'd eat one of those ugly bastards" regaining her original gait, she answered. Please apologize to the frogs too.

"Awwww. It'd have been really cool if you were able to chow down on some exotic grub like that. Oh, well" and Neptune uses her trump card as she flips the krill on the grill.

"C-C-Cool…?! D-Do you mean I could be… cool?!" as though she saw nirvana, she smiles so widely that sparkles are sparkling around her.

"Yup! Duh!"

"I see… so, people think you're cool if you can eat a frog… Maybe I'll try it out…" no you don't.

"Wait, don't get tri-MMMMH!" I cover Nepgear's mouth.

"If you must try a frog then I recommend swamp frogs, looks gross but man those slimy things are juicy"

"MmmGH!-mmmgh!" stop struggling, little sister.

"Ooooh! A recommendation, when it comes to recommendations, Jared's only says the best of stuff"

*Crunch!*

"-!" Owowowowowowowowow! Did this girl just crunch her teeth until the bones in my hand broke!?

"Sis! You gotta stop saying weird things like that, it's not very nice" once released from her confines, she tells her sister.

"Yeah, it's also not nice to break your Brother's hand with your teeth…" god, that hurts…

"That's what you get for being a bully, Big Brother" don't copy your Big Sister.

"Uzume, before I forget, the Baby Bugs gave these to me as a gift for helping them, would you like to take some?" Umio pulled out a bag from out of nowhere. Like seriously, where did he get that bag?

"What is it?" Uzume takes the bag from his fins and takes a peek inside.

"Eyuuuuuughhhhh?!" eyuuuuugh? How do you say that?

"Those are shiitake mushrooms!" as though it's her kryptonite, she throws the bag of mushrooms at me. I catch it and take a peek. Oh, these are good looking mushrooms.

"They're delicious if you roast them on a skewer, and the sight of you avariciously devouring them would be quite… delightful" Umio knows his mushrooms.

"No, no, no freakin' way! I don't care what anyone says- I'm never eating those things!" Uzume rejects the idea.

"Dear me, your disdain for shiitake mushrooms is incredibly worrisome"

"Oh, I know how that feels Umio" I'm worried from my wife's disdain on vegetables, especially eggplants.

"You don't eat shiitake, Uzume?" Nepgear asked. Of course, she doesn't eat them.

"I can't. Can't stand the taste or texture…" all veggies are something to get used to.

"It's truly a shame. They are very convenient. Shiitake mushrooms are exquisite roasted or boiled and they perform wonderfully in soup stocks" Umio said.

"Ah, when you want the texture to be a bit wilder. Shiitake mushrooms got your back" I said. I've incorporated a lot of shiitake mushrooms in many of my dishes.

"Soup stock?! I wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole!" you remind me of a certain woman that hates eggplants to a core.

"Speaking of 10-foot poles. Umio, you're krill is ready" I hand him the grilled krill.

"Thank you, Jared" with his fin he takes the krill off my hands.

"Anyway, now that we're nourished, I suppose it's time we explain what has actually transpired here in this nation," Umio said as I drink the rest of my non-alcoholic beer. Oh, is it time for some serious talk?

"Additionally, I extend my deepest gratitude to you three for saving me. Now, could you tell me how you three happened to come to this city?"

"Oh, Jared can explain that" Neptune passes the ball to me.

"Long story short, we found a console in some alley, attempted to fix it since it looks usable enough, suddenly opened an Einstein-Rosen bridge, got sucked in, and landed here" I say it all in one breath.

"We also don't have any means to communicate to where we came from" Nepgear adds.

"For now we concluded that we're in a different place or different country or whatever. And we're trying to find a way to go back"

"…So, yeah, what they said. We're in a bit of a bind" Neptune said.

"I see. What a unique predicament" Umio responds not really.

"So, you've come here from another continent, or perhaps have burrowed your way out of an underground nation. Or, you're delusional…" please let it be the last part.

"Or from another dimension" I cut in.

"Yes, I could construct several different theories, but that is the most probable" Umio agrees with me.

"Awww. I hate to say it, but I wish that wasn't the case again…" Neptune smiles awkwardly.

"'Again…?' May I assume that you three journeyed to an alternate dimension?"

"Mhm, in fact, Jared here isn't even from our dimension and he traveled all the way just to settle-down like an old man"

"I'm still young you know. 21 year's old" I protest.

"Man, we went through a lot of trouble to get back home last time, too. Time gets all wacky- we were gone for years but back home only a few days had passed…"

"I see…" Umio nods.

"…So, how will we get home? If we're really in another dimension, we can probably can't even contact Histoire…" Nepgear asked.

"Wouldn't Jared have the answer?"

"Shares or creating a wormhole. Those are our options" I answered.

"Eh? So we do the standard route of collecting shares to get back home eh?"

"Righto. Dense enough that the 3D space transforms into the 6th dimension, opening a path…" through connecting that path requires some precise math to do.

"But how can we…? Umio, are really the only ones here? Maybe there are other people hiding somewhere far away…?" Nepgear asked the most obvious resource for shares.

"Now that I think about it… did none of the CPUs from the other nations survive? Where are they?" she followed-up.

"I apologize, but as far as I know, the only CPU that exists is Uzume" Umio answered.

"There used to be people here though, right? There are still traces of them left on the internet"

"Indeed. They existed a long time ago. Without knowledge of their existence, I would not have thought of you as human" so humans are extinct huh.

"However, when I was born, this world was already in this state of desolation and ruin. That's why I was quite surprised to meet you both"

"So, does no one actually know why the world ended up in this condition…?"

"Uzume states that 'the giant', as she calls it, is the direct reason, but I believe an even greater cause exists…"

"Hm. Would you take a look at this? It's some data I found, although it's a little broken…" Nepgear pulls the N-Gear. She presses some things on the screen before showing it to Umio.

"…Hmmm… This appears to be a journal. The text is buggy here and there, but this truly is quite fascinating"

"Umio, I'd like to investigate more about what's happened to this world"

"Then, my ability may not be great, but allow me to help. We may uncover information vital to the safety and preservation of this world"

"Thank you very much!" so she just asked for permission? Typical Nepgear.

"…Incidentally, Uzume has been rather quiet for some time now…" we look around and found Uzume sleeping where she sits, laid on the floor vulnerable to any kind of attacks.

"…Zzzz…Zzzz…" she seems to be dreaming something.

"She appears to be in deep sleep…" ain't that obvious.

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you three up as well. I'm sure you're all very tired"

"Please. it's no trouble at all" Nepgear reassured.

"Actually, Umio, there's something I wanted to ask you about Uzume" Neptune suddenly spoke up.

"So, I noticed Uzume's personality and speech kinda change randomly once in a while… What the heck is up with that?"

"She is… pushing herself"

"Pushing herself?"

"Originally, she was a girl with a cheerful disposition, much like when she transforms" that's why she can't hide it so well.

"Even if she acted carefreely, she was very earnest. She may have believed that, as she was, we could not rely on her in this crumbling world" understandable.

"As she continued a life of survival and combat, her personality and speech slowly changed"

"So that's why she's so hung up on the idea of being cool, huh?" Neptune concludes.

"She must have read too many comics in her spare" I commented.

"There must be some part of her subconscious that relates being cool to being reliable" those 2 are 2 separate things.

"But one's personality is not something so easily changed" as we've observed, thank you very much.

"As Uzume has always been prone to daydreams, she often returns to her true self during those times" so she longs to end this charade she built upon herself.

"Now then, it's quite late. We can speak of what our next steps will be in the morning. I'm sure you are both tired, so, please, get some rest" Umio followed up his request and we all stand up on the spot. As I stand, I put out the fire we have for the grill and drink the last of my non-alcohol beer in one go.

"We can take care of the mess tomorrow morning" I suggested and the girls nod.

"Then…" I crouch down again and lift Uzume up. She's lighter than I expected her to be. I hope she doesn't wake up or she'll punch my head off.

"Good night, Umio. Thanks for speaking with us" Nepgear said.

"Yes, good night. Pleasant dreams to you all as well"


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

"Big Brother. Is Big Sis…?"

"You should know better than me, Nepgear. But yeah…" I take a look at the calendar on my phone.

"Let's just keep an eye out for her, just like always…"

"Mhm… just like always…"

We enter the abandoned building after our brief exchange. We found some good stuff essential to keeping us alive and some gasoline to warm the cold nights. The various deterrents I made around the area is still active ready to be turned off by anything. While traps are essential, fooling the enemy gives us a huge advantage in terms of resources we can spend.

As we climb the staircase, we hear the various chatter of the people up above…

"Nep Jr! Jared! I want to eat puddiiiiiing…!"

"…" here, on the floor, flailing her arms and legs like a 2-year-old toddler demanding to have their diapers changed is my wife.

"…What am I even worried about?" Sigh, my headaches are coming back.

"Goodness… what should we do? There isn't any pudding around, and even if I wanted to make some, we don't have the ingredients…" Nepgear, don't tolerate your Big Sister.

"Puddiiiiiiiing~!" great, she's flailing even more.

"What's goin' on? I can hear you guys from outside" Uzume appears from the adjacent room.

"Greetings. Nepsy is lively as usual, I see" Umio greets.

"Puddiiiiing! If I don't have any pudding, I'll die! Puddiiiiiing…!" she ramps up the speed of her flailing arms.

"…And there's our problem" Nepgear simply points out.

"Ah… I understand. Unfortunately, unless we somehow make it ourselves, we won't find any" Umio said.

"No! No! No! No! Puddiiiiing…!"

"Dear me, I'm finding it difficult to tell which one is actually the older sister" believe me Umio, people asked if I proposed to the wrong girl.

"It may be Nepsy's influence, but now I want to try eating some pudding" don't patronize her, Uzume.

"Right?! You want to eat pudding too, right, Uzume?" Neptune sits up. Oh no, stop influencing her more.

"That bitter-sweet taste of caramel sauce poured over a nice portion of cold, refreshing custard pudding… Even one day without it causes this Neptune to feel all sentimental…!"

"Custard pudding, huh…? But green tea pudding and chocolate pudding is great, too!" uuuh…

"Maybe we can go find some ingredients in some abandoned grocery stores nearby!" uuuh…

"If they had the base for pudding, we'd be even more super-ultra lucky, right?" now her tone is slowly climbing the cutesy side. You know, like a mouse.

"If we found some, Uzume would totes wanna makes yummy sweets and treat all her beautiful friends!" and I can literally see sparkles.

"How 'bout we make a whole buncha diff kinds of puddings, and have a big Puddipa together?~ Oh, when I say 'Puddipa', it's a shortening for 'Pudding Party'. Doesn't it sound, like, ultra-mega fun?"

"…." all 4 of us stare in silence. The change in behavior was so abrupt, so natural, so shoehorned in, that we have no comment on what actually happened.

"…S-So, yeah, a pudding party might be kinda tight… so maybe we could try it out or whatever…" realizing that she's gone overboard, she slowly tries to regain mood.

"But the problem is that ingredients. You need eggs and milk, right?"

"With a world in this state, I don't think we're gonna find either… What you think Jared?" my wife asked.

"Let's find some chickens or…!"

"Wait! He might be on to something! We might actually have some eggs!" realizing what I just said, Uzume and I slowly turn towards our floating fish.

"…W-Why are you staring in my direction?" the around him suddenly went cold. And cold sweat runs downs his forehead.

"Hey. D'you think you could make pudding out of fish eggs…?" Uzume asks.

"Fish eggs!?"

"Maybe… Worth a shot"

"Fish pudding…! This might be a whole new breed of pudding on our plates here…" Neptune's eyes sparkle with the idea.

"Just a moment, you three. I want you to calm down first" no, we want your eggs. Right now.

"No matter how you look, I am a male fish. Even if you were to cut my stomach open, you wouldn't find what you're looking for!"

"Tch, damn" Uzume clicks her tongue.

"…Phew. Until today, I had never before thanked my parents for bringing me into the world as a male"

"So Umio has his shares of troubles too"

"Alright then, Nepsy! It's still possible there are some ingredients left somewhere. Let's go search for 'em!"

"You're right! Oooh, even if we only find enough ingredients for one spoonful… it's worth it!" Neptune fully stands up.

"Well then, Nep Jr., Jared. We're going for some ingredient hunting"

"Happy hunting"

The two went down the stairs and runs off out of the building with the energy of 10-year old playing tag on the streets. Their footprints slowly dyed down to the distance. At the same time, my headache earlier has increased and now I need to rub my temples.

"Man, she's a handful…" in a good way, mind you.

"I'm sure being her Brother, you must have quite the childhood, Jared" Umio commented.

"Oh, I should probably cook lunch…" Nepgear mutters as she disappears into next room, heading straight for the stash. As she does so, I set up the mess kit to make it convenient for her.

"Thing is, Umio. I'm not her Brother…" I showed him the ring on my finger.

"Eh…? You're…"

"Yup"

"What a mismatched couple"

"We get that a lot"

"Forgive me for asking, but why did you marry her?"

"Cute, cute, and cute"

"…"

"Just kidding. There's plenty of reasons I can think of that pushed me to propose to her. Well, you could say that… she has a presence of nostalgia"

"Hmmmm… I won't push the matter anymore. But speaking of nostalgia, I have almost forgotten something important"

"Hm?" finishing setting up the mess kit, I sit down beside it and pour my attention on Umio.

"Uzume's birthday is coming up I would love it if you were to assist me in eluding her for a while"

"Throwing a surprise party?"

"Eh? Uzume's birthday is coming up?" I take a look at the doorway and Nepgear is back with some canned tuna, a chopping board, a knife, a frying pan, green peppers, and onions.

"I feel like eating something spicy today" noticing my stare, she seemed defended herself as she smiles.

"I don't mind spicy Gearsy. But I thought you said Jared makes most of the meals?" Umio reassured.

"He does. But sometimes he's also lazy" she sighed as if telling 'I thought Big Brother was better than that'. She walks towards the mess kit, puts down her stuff and places the pan on the burner.

"It seems even Jared has his own quirks…" Umio said, as Nepgear begins chopping the onions and green pepper.

"Enough about me, Uzume's birthday. When is it?"

"It's roughly 2 weeks from now" 2 weeks… wait…

"Oh, then it's really near huh. We should host a surprise party" Nepgear excitedly said her hands still concentrating on the task.

"That is what I am thinking, but with our current supply, would it not look bland?"

"Umio, when in 2 weeks exactly?"

"Exactly… apologies, around 1 week and 6 days to be exact"

"…"

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes, the only problem I am seeing is that we might not be able to prep on time"

"Maybe we can do…" and our conversation goes on.

1 week and 6 days… eh…. What kind of cruelty is the world cooking up now?


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

"Nep Jr.! Jared! I found some eggs!"

"Huh?!" Nepgear suddenly stopped mixing the canned tuna on the frying pan. It's already cooked anyway as far as I can tell, so I turned off the portable stove. She'll be in this shock mode for a while anyway.

"I've got milk and sugar, too! I think we're all set for now!"

To explain, it hasn't been 30 minutes since they left that they're already bringing home some shopping supplies. Both of them are holding 2 bags of plastics each, with Neptune raising hers as if raising a flag of victory that conquered the moon. You can really tell these had the time of their lives.

"What?! You too, Uzume?!"

"There were actually some monster peddlers nearby who just opened up a shop" that is way too convenient Neptune. Seriously, way too convenient.

"Not only that, but everything here is 100% organic and fresh!" where is this peddler? Can I ask where he gets his resources?

"This feels just a little too convenient…" agreed, Umio.

"Well, as long as we have food we can eat, I think anything's fine at this point"

"Let's start whipping up this pudding right away, Gearsy!"

"Hold up. I'll do it. Little Sister here has been cooking for a while…" I point with my eyes the slightly spicy canned tuna.

"Oh! Back at home, Jared and Nep Jr. are always the duo in the kitchen!" Neptune exclaimed.

"Really? He doesn't look like it but he does sound more like a house husband than anything" Uzume comments.

"That's because I am a house husband" I take the eggs and milk off there persons. Jesus, there's enough to fill in 30 people. Did they have to buy so many? Of course, they would. Neptune's thirst for pudding far exceeds the depth of the universe itself. If the whole outer space is made up of pudding, she'll eat it all even if it's the last thing she'll do.

"Then, why don't we go have lunch while Big Brother makes deserts for everyone?" Nepgear suggested.

"That is a sound idea. Pudding takes time to prepare after all" Umio agreed.

"Don't worry Jared! I'll save ya some of this canned tuna!" Neptune said.

"I doubt you'll eat it anyway" since you know, she'll need enough space to eat 3 days worth of pudding.

"I'd probably make around 30 of them anyway…" with this much ingredient to work on I might even reach that number in record time. With that, I start messing around with the mess kit.

[Line Break]

I like my pudding cold. That said, I don't mind eating after the cooldown period, but I prefer it to be in a refrigerator for a set amount of time before I consume it. Since we don't have a refrigerator, we'll have to settle with warm pudding, which I know my wife will still consume since, well, it's pudding. You'll eat your favorite food no matter what form it takes.

I take a tray filled with pudding on plates, lift them all up and turn around…

"And I'm do-! Okay… Last I checked, there's only 5 of us…"

"Oooh, good job, Jared!" Neptune praised me before continuing her chatter with fishes that have spider-legs. You know, those monsters that we saved during the underground railroad incident. No, there's like 10 or more so of them, filling the entire floor with a sea of them. So that's the reason for the buzz behind my back.

"Thank you for the hard work!" one of them says.

"I figured eating delicious sweets together with everyone makes them even more scrumptious, so I invited them over" Neptune explains.

"Well, there is way too much pudding to begin with" and I don't want to eat them all.

"I can't wait for the pudding!" another one of them says.

"Then, I will boil us some tea, then. Our surroundings may be decrepit, but let's treat ourselves to a tea party" good idea Umio. He gently floats towards the mess kit behind me.

[Line Break]

"Aaaaah, I am so stuffed. I just can't get started up unless I have a pudding a day"

"Hahaha, you really do love your pudding, don'tcha?" Uzume comments. I'd rather not tell you, fine folks, how many puddings my wife downed. She didn't even take time to enjoy the rich and smooth texture of the desert and just swallowed it whole like a snake swallowing a giant prey.

It hasn't even been 30 minutes since our tea party started and already this floor is buzzing with random talks. I've only eaten one cup of pudding and gulped down at least 2 glasses of tea. And this tea really warms you up.

"Are you okay, there Jared? You haven't eaten a lot" Umio asked me in concern.

"No worries. A large number of reorders is just stacking up" I said as I pour some more caramelized sugar on small containers. After that, I quickly cleaned up the pan, immediately pour milk into the pan and started boiling it.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself doing the hard labor…" you can tell?

"Nothing is more satisfying than seeing my wife and my little sister getting fat from my cooking" I said, as I quickly crack some eggs and whisk it.

"Of course. I, too, understand that well"

"The tea you made for us was really delicious, Umio" Nepgear said after gulping down her share.

"Thank you. It's my original blend. I'm a bit of a hobbyist when it comes to tea. I can give you some of this blend if you'd like"

"Really? Thank you!" looks like Nepgear is about to learn a new recipe.

"Looks aside, you really are a gentleman Umio" Neptune comments.

"I think he's pretty handsome on the outside, too, you know?" Uzume adds.

"…That's right. Uzume has that sort of style sense…" the style sense of the weird things.

"While you're all chatting away, can someone clear the tray for me, I'm about to put the last batch of pudding to steam"

"Oh, I'll help you out" Nepgear takes the tray full of warm pudding. She headed to the red fishy spider-legged monsters that we saved that are clearly making a fuss about something. I pour the last of our warm milk on the bowl of whisked eggs, while also whisking it. Then, I pour it on the tiny containers with our caramelized sugar. As I wait for the eggs to settle, water is already being heated on the pan.

"…There… And in…" I place the tiny containers of pudding into the pan, of course not letting the water reach the pudding itself. Cover the pan and breathes a sigh of relief.

"World record…" pudding is delicate. High heat plus delicate food requires concentration. A lot of concentration. It's like driving a bike at break necking speeds, the faster you go, that more danger you are exposed to, the more concentration you need. The last batch of pudding will be ready in a few short minutes, I reunite with the crew in the meantime and drink some tea.

"Now, that our tea party is winding down, I would like to have a meeting discussing our future strategies, if you are all willing" Umio said.

"I don't mind" Uzume said.

"I'm okay too! My motivation gauge is at max now that my belly's full of pudding!"

"Go on. I'm just going to enjoy my tea"

"Well, let's jump in immediately. I just received a call informing me of a place where share crystals may be located"

"We've used up a lot from the previous fights, so it'd be great for me to restock my supply"

"Furthermore, we can surmise that there is a large supply of share crystals at this location"

"We might even be able to execute our plan…"

"Indeed. As long as we have the necessary share crystals, our preparations will be complete"

"Which means we can finally…"

"Hey, so what's this 'plan' you guys are talking about? It'd be nice if you let us in on this stuff so we can understand" Neptune said.

"Oh, right, my bad"

"To explain it simply, it is a plan to defeat that colossus you've already seen" Umio said.

"Nepu!? You have a way to defeat that giant thing?!" who knew, right, Neptune?

"After repeated battles with it, I came realized that it's weak to share energy" so it's their kryptonite.

"However, because of its size, even if you strike it with share energy on a single point, it has little effect" have you tried force feeding it?

"This is why we are attempting to contain it by creating a special barrier that uses a huge amount of share crystals" that's some crazy science fiction plan, but since share crystals are basically miracle rocks it just might happen.

"Holy moly! That's a pretty crazy plan! With that, even a giant would get clobbered!"

"Since it's just a barrier… it doesn't really mean that it'll collapse right? We still have to do the manual labor" I said.

"It'll be weak enough but yes, that is the idea" Umio agreed.

"That is one crazy plan…"

"I'm back. What did you guys discuss about?" Nepgear came back with an empty tray.

"Scavenger hunting plans. Wanna chime in?"

"What are we looking for?"

"We're planning on gathering share crystals that I have just received word on" Umio said.

"Oh, if we're going, then one of us should stay. Monsters don't come by here, but it's better for our supplies to be protected." Nepgear said.

"I'll set up some later tonight. I've spread most of our supplies so we have emergency backup bases"

"How thoughtful of you" Umio comments. Not my first time.

"So, should we bring some sort of bag?" Neptune asked.

"Hrmm… Yes, we need to gather as much as we can to prepare. Over preparing is better than not enough"

"We could bring a tray and make them turn into share pudding"

"Ooooooooh! That'd be a huge power up for me!" Neptune is excited.

"Of course melting a rock takes a serious amount of heat so I won't bother to do it"

"Eeeeeeeeh!?" I pet Neptune's head.

"Speaking of food, what if somebody or something did come while we're gone"

"Let them have it, we have plenty to not to give anyway" I answer Nepgear's question. Plus the emergency locations I spent time finding has enough resources around it to gather some food that we can use.

"To conclude our short meeting, we can set out tomorrow morning and gather as many crystals as we can before lunch. Do you all agree?" Umio said.

"Yup!"

"No problem!"

"No contest"

"Mhm!"

"Then, let us enjoy with the rest of the company"


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

"...*sniff!*… *sniff!*… J…jared…"

"…mmmm…"

"I… I'm so…sorry… *sniff!* *hic!*"

"…Sis…?"

"*hic!*… *sniff!*…"

"…!"

Immediately hearing her sister crying, Nepgear bolts up from her sleeping bag and quickly turns to her. Neptune has tears streaming down her face. The sleeping bag has marks on it that shows how much tears she has shed. How long has she been crying? What terrible nightmares has she been seeing?

Nepgear brushes those questions aside, she doesn't have time to stop and think. She shakes her sister awake, interrupting the torment that she's dreaming about.

"Mmmm… Nep Jr…?" Neptune opens her eyes, clearly showing to her how red her eyes are to her little sister.

"Sis… are you okay?"

"…why…? Ah, ehehehe… So I did it again huh?" knowing why, she smiles at her, as though wanting to give her some relief that it's nothing to worry about.

"Do you want a glass of water?"

"Nah, don't worry about it Li'l Sister"

"…But…"

"…It's okay, really. Just a bad dream. By the way, what time is it?"

"It's…" Neptune pulls out her N-Gear.

"…2:17"

"Still a long way before we get moving huh… I dunno if I can sleep again…"

"Then, do want to sleep together then?" Nepgear suggested.

"Hrmmmm… I wanna cop-a-feel how your body has grown, but I'm sorry…" she declines.

"It's okay"

"…I'll go to the bathroom for a bit, go get some sleep my neptincts says it's going to be another long day today…"

"Are you sure it's okay Big Sis?"

"Yup! Don't worry about me, I'm just going to the toilet and go back to sleep afterward"

"Okay…"

Neptune crawls out of her sleeping bag. Her little Sister watches her as she makes her way towards the opening. Even she could tell, that her Big Sister was at it again. Smiling, saying it's nothing to worry about, and then leave. She knows where she's really going. She knows what she's really after. She's not a kid anymore to not understand.

"But…" what is she going to do? What is she supposed to do? And every time she asks that question to herself, there is only one answer that emerges from within.

She can't do anything.

* * *

"*Slurp*…*lick*, mm…"

"haah, mm… mmph, ahh, haah…"

Am I having another wet dream again? These dreams don't come often but I think it's a clear sign that I want some sort of release. Maybe because of all the stress that's been building up.

"Ahmm, haah, muah… ngh, ahn, mnph…"

"Mmph, mm, mu… ahn… uhn…"

Oh, she's really good. It's like she knows all the spots where to lick.

"Ahmm, ngh, *slurp*, mm…. haah, uhm…"

"Mmnn… fwah, ahh… *lick*, muah…"

"…!" she's attacking my sensitive underside with such gusto and familiarity. As if she knows when and how to change.

"Jared… Wake up already… Ahmm, muah, mmnn… mmm, ngh… ahhm, muah…"

"Mmmnn, fwaah… uhn, mmm, ahhh, hahh…"

"…I can't exactly sleep through this, you know that, right?"

"Ahh, mm, mwah… you're awake… haah, ngh, *lick*… *slurp*, muah…"

I take a look at the person that's stimulating my wet dream. She bobs her head up and down, as she continues to suck on my manhood with vigor. Sitting up

"Haah, muah, *lick*… mm, ngh, uhn…"

"uhn… *lick*… muha… ahnn…" pursing her lips together, electric shocks fly through my entire nervous system.

"ngh, mua… haah… mmuah, ngh, *lick*… fwaah, mm…"

"Uhnn, mmnn… ahh, uhn, kah… mmmmnn, ahhh…" she looks upward to me with provocative eyes, yearning for me to release it.

"Ahhhn, fwaah… yaah, mmn… muah, hoo, haah…"

"Ngh, haah…. Ah, mmnn, haah… fwah, uuhn…"

"Fwah… mwa, nnph, ngh… auu, mm…"

"Ooh, ahhn, mmwa,uhnn, ahhm… *slurp*…"

"Mwa, *lick*, mmm…ahn, uhn… *slurp*, ngh…"

"Mmm, mmph, ahhn… ahh, haah.. mwa, mm…"

"…!" it's taking every strength I have resisting the urge to release it. My hand instinctively grabs her head, but she ignores my plea to slow down and continues on.

"Fwah, mwah… aah, mm, ahnn, *lick*, uhnn…"

"Haah, mwa, ngh… ahh, ahhn, ah… mwah…"

"Ahmm… mm, ahn… slurp, uhn, mwah…"

"Mm, mmnn… haah, *slurp*, mwah… mmph, fwaah…"

My hand weakly resists her…

"Ahhn, mmmnn… *slurp*, ngh… mwa, ahhn…"

"Uhnn, mm… mmnn, mm… *lick*, uhhnn…"

"Ahh, mm, mwa…uhn… ahh, ngh…"

"Fwahh, mmn… ngh, ugh, mm, mmnnn…"

"*Slurp*… mmnn, haah… *lick*, hmmnn"

I don't think I can hold on much longer. She's been sucking and licking non-stop. And to top it off, as though frustrated, she starts stroking me.

"Ahh, haahhnn… Fwaah, ngh… ahh, mwa, mmn…"

"Mmnn, mwa… ngh, ah… *slurp*, ngh, mwah…"

"Haah, *lick*, *slurp*… yaah, mm, mwa…"

"…mm, *slurp*, mm, mwah…"

"Neptune…!"

"Mm, mwah, mm… Ngh, *slurp*, mwa, mm, mwah…"

Her mouth and hand speed up their movements to bring me on the edge.

"Mmm, ahnnn, mm, fwaah, mwa, ahnn, haa, *slurp*…"

"Haahm, ngh, mwah, ngh… uhnn, *slurp*, ahhh…!"

"…!"

"*slurp!*…Mmmgh..!"

I grab Neptune's head and push it down. The moment my dick hits her throat, I shoot all my pent up load inside her.

"Mmmgh… mmmg, ngh…"

"…!"

As I cum inside her, she sucks on my dick sending shocks of pleasure.

"*Gulp* *gulp*…"

"Ngh, *gulp*... mm, mmn… *gulp*…"

Despite the load, she manages to swallow all of it down without spilling a drop. All of my strength just left me from a single climax. I can even still the waves of pleasure coursing through me even after I've ejaculated.

Neptune rises and takes off her panties. She's a waterfall just like always. She positions her lower opening right on top of my tower, eagerly waiting to get inside her.

"You don't want to move?" I said in between breaths, she shook her head.

"Then keep it down. There's a fish here…"

"Mhm…"

With two fingers, Neptune opens up, more juices of her comes out. With tantalizing movements, my tip disappears inside her.

"Uhn… ahh, mm…it's been so long…"

She lowers herself more, enveloping about half of my manhood inside her.

"Uhn, mmn… mmm, mmmn…"

Her insides are sending pulses through me, as she slowly takes all of me inside her. And without waiting to enjoy the moment, she moves her hips.

"Mm, haah… uwah, fwah, ahn… ah, ah… ah…"

"Uya, ah, ah… mm, uhn, mmn… mm, ooh, aaaah…"

Wet, sloppy sounds emanate from where we're linked, lending an erotic tint to the atmosphere. Even though I just told her to be quiet, I can't exactly mask the noise of our connection.

"Hyah, ah… ahh, uwah., ahhh…"

"Jared… does it feel good?"

"Yeah…" so much so, that I can't take it any longer.

"Nepu! Hyah, yah, yaaah…!"

I thrust into her from below.

"Mmm, hyahhhn, ahhhh…!"

I rise up from position as I thrust into her. I seal her lips while still continuing my momentum inside her.

"Mmmh, mmh… nmn! Mm! mm, nn,… mphwa! Mmh…!"

"Mpwah… Jare-nm…! Mmnm…!"

I can tell that even more juices of her are flowing out of her. The sounds of our wet hips hitting each other stimulates me to go even faster.

"Mmh, mmh…aahh, Ahhhhh!"

"Nep…! Ugh! Nngh, uwah, wah… mmmh! Nmn! Mm! …mwah…!"

"Jared… wait…! Mmmh!"

I don't let her talk. Partly because if I let her talk, she's going to wake up our blue fish here. I keep trusting and capturing her tongue with my own. Her hard nipples are poking through her jacket.

"mmn! *Slurp!* fwahmm! Nmm!"

"Mngh! Nnnh… mwah! Ah, ahhh…"

"Hyahn! Nngh… ngh…!"

"Mmmng! Nn! Nn!... mng! Mmm! Mmmhhh! Mwah…!"

"Neptune…"

"Mhm… cum inside me… Jared… Jared… Mmh!"

I spring my thrusts inside her.

"Mhhh, mmmh! Nmnmmm! Mm! Mmmgh!"

I thrust upward inside her with all my might.

"Mmmh! Mmh! Mmh! Mmhhh!"

Her walls clamps down on me hard.

"Mh! Mh, mh…! Jwared…! I'm cum… mmmng!"

"Mhn! Mmmmmh!... mhh, myh! Mmmmmh, mmh mmm! Mmmmmmmmmh!"

Everything turns to white as I release all my load inside her. Her body convulses rhythmically with the pulsing of my manhood.

" _haa… haa… haa…_ it's so hot inside me… haa.. aah… ahhh…"

She's still at the peak of her own climax.

"Haah, haah… nngh… "

A combination of our juices overflows and pours out of her opening. The mixture flows down and reaches to my pants.

* * *

"…Geez, Big Brother and Sis should learn to be quiet..." Nepgear hugs her knees even tighter. Her heavy heart makes her want to sink to a bottomless pit.

"…Please get well, Sis…" as with anyone, who so helplessly, worry, that's all she can do.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

"Huh, so there are share crystals hiding even in a place like this" Uzume said as she basked under the scenic view.

The pink petals dance as they fall from their branches. The slight wind keeps them dancing a little more before they hit the ground. The smell of flowers fills our nostrils. A feeling so far removed from the area that surrounds it that you just might believe that we're in a dream.

The Cherry Blossom trees are in full bloom, though they don't provide a contrast with the purple sky above. It is still refreshing and heart-warming a sight to see something that does not resemble some sort of war. And just as I said, it makes you feel that you're in a different place altogether.

"Wow… I can't believe such a beautiful place still exists in this world" you can say that again.

"You must realize that this place is this way because this is where share crystals reside" Umio said. Wait, that means…

"Why's that?" Neptune asked.

"The lands of this nation, and of this world, are almost completely lifeless" no shit, Umio.

"I personally believe that the dead land directly correlates to the fact that the amount of the CPU's protecting power has greatly diminished" no shit.

"The sole reason Gamindustri exists is due to the protective powers of the CPUs…" he adds.

"That's just like my nation, too. Planeptune can't do anything without me around!" Neptune replies.

"However, according to the ancient texts, it is said that the source of the CPU's power is, in actuality, the faith of the people" Umio recalls.

"If this world bears no human population, CPUs can no longer manifest their true power. My theory is that these share crystals scattered across the lands are the crystallization of the faith of all of those who used to exist here"

"I suppose that CPUs and their people create nations b developing a relationship that is mutually supportive" well when you mixed in politics it's become a shit show, Nepgear.

"It was the same in another Gamindustri of Ultradimension"

"Hm… that means no matter the dimension we're in, Gamindustri will usually operate in the same way"

"Nah, back in my dimension there are no share crystals to speak off. Only extreme religious people… And the do-, no scratch that, they sometimes don't form a nation from it" I added.

"Ahaha! Jared's world is boring"

"Are these the cheeks that insult my dimension" I pinch and stretch Neptune's cheeks.

"Owwwieeee….!"

"Well, that makes my job of explaining it much easier" Umio said.

"My recent investigations have found that this is the only nation which exists. There is literally nothing beyond the mountains and oceans" did you go around the world or something to say that with confidence?

"…So it was true after all" Uzume said with a disappointed tone.

"No way?! So, that means that we're seriously in an end-of- the-world situation!?" apparently, Neptune.

"'End of the world' is quaint, in comparison. Let us return to the previous topic. So, although Uzume is a CPU, this nation is still slowly perishing. Any ideas as to why that is?" Umio asked a rhetorical question.

"No…" after a bit of pondering, Nepgear answered.

"Considering Uzume remains dependent on a steady supply of share crystals, I believe this world has not accepted her as its CPU" that's…

"What…?!"

"….." Nepgear and Uzume react. So Uzume either knows it but denies it, or Uzume doesn't know. Either way, that reaction speaks volumes.

"In a world without CPUs, this place may no longer even be Gamindustri. What do you think will happen to this world if it's very last nation falls into ruins?"

"…It would disappear, wouldn't it?" Nepgear answered grimly.

"If we venture to give a name to this shell of a Gamindustri, you could perhaps call it the Zero Dimension" that's a befitting name.

"Can I say a counter-argument?" I raise my voice.

"First, on the part where Uzume is not yet accepted. I don't believe the world has anything to do whoever is CPU or not"

"Oh? Can you elaborate?"

"CPU's are not born from the dirt like a tree. They're born in 3 ways, first, consumed a share crystal, second, an extreme amount of faith, and third, a ritual where the previous CPU passes its powers to its successor. It's my belief that Uzume's CPU origin came from these 3 scenarios, and it's outside the realm of natural phenomena" otherwise she'd be treated as a virus.

"Hrmmm… Those are possible but…"

"So Uzume ate some rock huh?" Neptune said.

"Possibly, Nepsy. But I can't remember much…" Uzume adds.

"And, secondly, don't you think that you rushed the part that there's another nation?"

"Rushed…? Wait…" Umio seems to get it.

"What if Uzume was the _only_ CPU to begin with?"

"…!"

"think about it, this world is still in barebones, lack of humans, some buildings that could have been built by whoever, what if Uzume was only CPU to begin with?"

"Hm? I don't get it…" Nepgear said.

"What he means is that Uzume might be the first CPU that was ever made. And that we're in a world where it is about to be born. But that would go against the records that I have found…"

"It's just a thought. It's nothing conclusive. Plus, it's too convenient that our dimension resembles this dimension painfully"

"I see… because of the consistency, you believe it's a mesh of dimensions and a brainchild would be born from it"

"Could be, I'm only speaking from what I have read and experienced"

"I see. I shall take those thoughts into consideration"

"No matter what, I'm not giving up" Uzume spoke up.

"Only CPU, the world not accepting… I don't care. Everyone else here looks up to me as a CPU. I'm stickin' it out 'till the end…" it seems Uzume is fired up.

"Back to the topic at hand…" weren't we on the topic before?

"The beauty and abundance in this place are due to the share crystal's energy feeding this entire forest. This happens every time. The natural abundance in this area is proof of the immense power held within these share crystals"

"And, like, this is a huge forest, right? That means there has to be big enough share crystals power at work here" Uzume added.

"But, if we take all the share crystals we find here, won't this forest wither and die…?" Neptune asked.

"Correct. Areas like these are quite precious, however, so we try not to remove all of the crystals" Umio answered her.

"Whew, that's good! That means we can come back on a field trip and look at all the pretty flowers!" and Neptune was asking it for a different reason as usual.

"S-sis… Umio was discussing a fairly grave topic with us, and that's what you decide to contribute to this conversation?"

"Please, it's not like we're not used to her derailing a topic, Little Sister" I said.

"Nep Jr., don't ya get it? Everybody needs a little normalcy in crazy times like these! Those everyday pleasures are so important!"

"You're right. Once we finish all of this, coming here and just staring at the flowers would be so nice" Uzume responds.

"Speaking as your husband, there is never a day that I don't have to deal with your crazy. In fact, can I file a leave? I want some normalcy too"

"Denied!" she denied my request.

"Manager Nepgear, help. My Boss is abusive" I plea to my manager.

"If you take your leave how are we going to throw a party and have all the Baby Bugs here!"

"You just want me to barbecue some meat"

"That does sound nice. Maybe I could even make a whole bunch of pudding like I did yesterday" I did most of the pudding Nepgear. Don't steal my light.

"I'll help out, too! I wanna try making different flavors" Uzume adds. I have no qualms with Uzume.

"Now, now. Let's not forget that Jared made most of the work yesterday"

"Me knows, that's why I want to throw a party for Jared's hard work yesterday" you'd think it's a sweet gesture from my wife but…

"I can still see that you just want me to cook more barbecue for you" as your husband, I can totally see you from a mile away.

"No, it's not! Are you dismissing your wife's good Samaritan nature!?" Yes, I am…

"Oh my, this conversation has gone spiraling out of control"

"You can say that again, Umio"


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

"It kinda feels like we're back at home huh" Neptune said.

"Well the only difference is that the sky is purple" I answered.

"Mhm! You think we can have our sky too as purple?"

"Nope"

Neptune and I are lagging behind a bit from the trio. Since Umio said it'll take a while for us to get to the pre-destined location, we figured we could use some time together, enjoying the view for a bit and each other's company. Neptune walks merrily beside me as she swings my arm around like a trooper.

"If the sky does suddenly turn purple people are going to shout 'THE SKY IS FALLING!' kind of thing" I continued.

"Think about it, it'll be the same color as my hair and Planeptune would literally be purple!"

"Even Leanbox isn't all that green. Vert is a blonde"

"You're right. Maybe we should die her hair in green"

"Chika would love that to happen"

"'My Vert has the same hair as me now!' I think she'll say that" good impersonation.

"She might even force Vert to start wearing her clothes"

"Chika twins!" her imagination skyrocketed.

"If only she has her own little sister then she'd probably stop fawning over Nepgear. Not like I don't enjoy her sneaking into the tower though" wait, am I condoning breaking and entering?

"Nepu, you want to sell off our Little Sister!"

"If I was going to sell her off, I'd start selling her organs first. We'd make a ton of money that way"

"Oooh!" she must think it's economical.

"You know, I can hear both of you" Nepgear suddenly appeared.

"Hello Nepgear, we're planning on how to sell your organs for a quick buck"

"Geez, that joke is not funny" she pouts.

"The only thing I'm going to sell off is 1 lung and 1 kidney"

"I'm not going to function properly!"

"Don't worry. With a bit of training, you'll be back to your old self in no time" I smile my best business smile at her.

"I'm not relieved to hear that at all!" she might look angry, but she knows how my jokes function.

"Geez, I'm not going to give you a share of dinner tonight" she pouts and walks away.

"Not if I cook something first"

"Mmm!"

"Ahahaha" damn teasing my own sibling-in-law is fun.

We continue our walk enjoying the atmosphere and the excitement of reaching our objective without a hitch. The petals of the cherry blossom trees seem to agree too as they provide us eye-candy colors and a spectacular show.

Rounding a corner, we come to an open area, surrounded by cherry blossoms.

"Now then, from here on out, this is where we start to find our search" Umio said.

"We have verified that the path we took doesn't have share crystals so beyond here are unchartered territories"

"By the way, these share crystals, they glow in a rainbow-like fashion with glitters inside them correct?" I ask. I want to be consistent with what I know.

"Yes. They're not hard to miss given that attribute and they shine brightly too. Shining a flashlight would give prominence to that as well" good thing our cellphones still have some battery left.

"Oh, our phone's flashlight has its use now!" Neptune, apologize to phone manufacturers right now.

"We'll have to cut through the forest of cherry blossoms, but try not to stray too far away from this open spot. There will be plenty more open spots like this one, so it's not unlikely that we'll not cover the whole park"

"Alright I'll start at the east side" I declared as I pull out my phone.

"Then I'll go that way!" Neptune pointed the northeast.

"I'll go to northwest" Uzume said.

"And I'll go northwest"

"I'll go with Uzume, we can come back at around an hour, is that okay?" we nod.

After nodding, I face the area that I have to deal with. With just a few steps I enter the cherry blossom forest. And yes, if you're going to ask, it's so damn pink I need some sunglasses. The trees are all tightly knitted to one another that it's almost impossible to gain a clear view between 2 trees.

"Good thing these roots are big and strong" they must be rooted so deep enough that the thick ones are surfacing the ground.

I shine the flashlight from my phone around me. And as expected, nothing seems to be reacting. Even when, I try shining the light in between the trees, just so it could reach the deepest part of the forest. Well, if it was this easy then we wouldn't be looking for it. Hell, it'd look more suspicious if something so valuable is easy to obtain.

I started walking through the tight spaces, shining my light whenever I can. Occasionally, on my left, light sparkles in between the forest of cherry blossoms. And it seems to be moving horizontally at a leisurely pace. Lucky for Neptune that she got an area that's not that thick. She's moving at what? 2x faster than me?

"Must be how the nutrients are distributed…" I blame mother nature for my misfortune.

Walking further in, my steps are almost echoing from the tree trunks. And looking back, I can't see the open area that we separated anymore. I shine my light around me, looking for anything that might react to it, the wind blows as though pointing me towards…!

"…!" that smell… it's a smell that you can't not recognize.

"Nepu! Jared! Jaaaareeed!" she should know not to shout.

"Yeah!? What is it!?"

"Weeeell, I gotta bad feeling so you better watch out!"

"Hrm? You too, if you're gonna trip, take a pic and send it to me!"

"Nepu! I won't trip just because you want to see my panties!" no, I wasn't thinking about your panties.

Strange, I know Neptune can be overly perceptive when you least expect it, but to be _this_ perceptive is a whole new level. Is she rubbing off of me? Is my constant worry finally being paid off? As her husband, I should probably test her after this. After all, a test proves that you've finally learned something.

"But before that, I need to investigate that corpse first…"

I follow the scent of iron. With each and every step, the smell gets stronger. I check my instincts and surroundings it seems that there aren't any nearby monsters to speak off. As I get closer, I notice a stain on one of the roots.

"…It's dry… 3 to 4 days…" I look around and sure enough, I found more evidence of blood.

I follow the trail of blood and before long, I'm met with a corpse of a monster. _Diptera_ gathers around its remaining corpse, feeding off whatever left of it. The monster in question seems to be a small _gulo gulo_ with metallic paws.

As I walk over to examine, the _dipteras_ buzzingly scatters, disturbed and angry that I was the came over to their meal. Once they've completely dispersed, I can finally wha…!

"Now this is strange" I kneel down and take a better look.

It seems that it's been pierced with something like a cone. The fur around the giant hole and its innards seem to suggest that it was twisted forcefully. And the size of the hole seems indicates its size. I know we have battery-powered drills but did someone have to use a pagoda drill bit on this guy?

"But why kill it though?" I can't find evidence that it killed it for food. And there's no blood on the metallic claws either.

"…Is someone testing their newly bought drill or something?"

Well, whatever it is, I have a ba…!

"…!"

Instincts suddenly warn me. I jerk my head towards the direction to where it's pointing danger to, I can't see anything between the trees.

" _…_ "

Translation: Hehe…

"…!" I definitely heard that. And it's different from what I heard before…No wait… I recognize this voice…!

"…!"

Translation: Come out, Uzume.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

"Uzume…" even when I speak her name, she doesn't respond.

I've already overclocked my brain and I still can't see her between the trees. I'm moving my head ever so slightly, finding that one perfect angle. Instincts have already told me her general direction. But I can't seem to pinpoint her.

"Uzume. I'm not going to tell Umio about this. So come out already" she's not moving at all.

There are petals on the ground. Plenty of them, if you were to move, you'd most likely make a noise. But seeing as I can't hear a thing, it means that she hasn't moved from her spot. What? Is she just keeping cool and not reacting being called to? Or…?

"…"

Translation: You're not Uzume, are you?

"…"

Translation: That's right…

 _Brother…_

"…it disappeared…" I can't sense it anymore. My instincts are all telling me that the coast is clear.

"What the hell is going on here?"

* * *

"Hm? Oh, welcome back Jared. How was your search?" Umio greeted me the moment I exited the forest.

"Terrible. I couldn't find squat" I answer honestly.

"If it was this easy then we wouldn't have searched for it in the beginning" I concluded that earlier too.

"I'm guessing that you guys didn't find anything either?"

"As you can see" he takes a look at the girls behind him; peeking, those three are playing rock paper scissors.

"*Sigh*, when was the time I see Uzume smile" although speaking in a whisper, I heard him.

"That's my wife for you. Able to bring smiles wherever she goes" just seeing my wife smile, warms me up.

"It seems we're on the same page for something"

"So it seems. Did Uzume went off-track when you 2 were searching?"

"Off-track? No, I was with her the entire time"

"That's good to hear" so if Uzume didn't that would mean, someone is masking their existence with hers. Is this another scheme of _The World_?

"Shall we get going? There's plenty of places to be"

Once we've finally regrouped, we follow Umio towards the next the location. I take a quick look at my wife. She's walking normally like she always does, beaming like she just won the lottery. Maybe those rock-paper-scissors won her something and is now swinging her arms mimicking that of a North Korean soldier. I guess she's fine… but…

"You okay?"

"Nepu? Mhm! Why'd you ask?"

"Of course, to get the opportunity to take a picture of your embarrassing moments. I must tell these things to the neighborhood housewives and all"

"Big Brother, you rarely even leave the tower to gossip" Nepgear chimes in.

"What? How dare you accuse me of such" I play along.

"Ever since you learned that one site where you can order fresh produce online. You've never left the tower" is she telling me that I'm one of those shut-ins?

"Jarsy never leaves the house?" Umio also chimes in.

"Big Brother never leaves the house unless there's a big monster quest that's posted on the Guild board" oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi. Litter Sister? Hey, little sister? Why are you ratting me out?

"My, and here I thought Jarsy is the sanest person here. It seems your wife must have rubbed some of her personality on you" this fish is making fun of me.

"Even though Big Brother is a reliable person and all, he sometimes let me do the dishes. Geez, he's supposed to be a gentleman"

"Hey, I strive for gender equality here"

"Nepu! That's right! Even Jared doesn't clean up the mess I made! The practice makeup spilled all over the floor and he didn't even clean!" Neptune, that was your mess. And last I checked, the last time you practiced makeup was when we were prepping for the wedding.

"Umio cleans and washes after I did my stuff. He's suuuuupppeeeerr reliable" oh don't tell me you're chiming in too, Uzume.

"You could be more like Umio, Big Brother" are you telling me to be a fish?

"Jared as a fish…hrmmmm…" stop it woman, don't imagine it. And stop reading my mind, please.

"Jarsy as a fish… hrmmmm…." you too, Uzume! Stop imagining it!

"Jared as my fellow fish..." oh for god's sake!

"Pfffft! AHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't I'm sorry! But Jared as a fish…! Is… too…! Aaahahaahahhahahahahaha" what in the heavens did my wife imagine?

"Pfffft! It seems we're all imagining the same thing… I'm sorry Jarsey… but…Pfffft!"

"AHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It doesn't look cute at all! It really doesn't!"

"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHA! S-Stop it! I can't help but laugh!"

"…What kind of shared imagination are they having even?" and how are they even sharing their imagination? Is this some new telepathy thing that I'm not aware of?

"All jokes aside, it's still quite a way before our next search. What game shall we play to pass the time? Surely, making fun of Jarsy would annoy him" well, it ain't the first time that a group of women annoyed me.

"Leave the games to Jared. He knows a lot of stuff to pass the time" don't put me on the spot.

"Shiritori then" I suggested.

"The rules of the game are simple. We each say the word that has the same first letter of the last letter of the previous word. For example, tit, tat. The number of letters that word has are your points and the first to reach 50 is the winner. Also, no repeats. When the word is said, you can't say it anymore"

"This sounds challenging" Umio comments. It is actually. And since we're 4 people, we'll be burning through the common words ASAP.

"There's also a time limit of 7 seconds to think. The last person to be still in the game is loses" I added the rules.

"And as for the punishment… hrmmmmm… how about the loser will have to source and make pizza for everyone"

"Pizza! Yay! I'm gonna blow you guys away with my smarts!" Neptune happily declares.

"Well not to hurt anyone's feelings, but a slice of pizza does sound nice" Nepgear also agrees.

"Mhm. Pizza, I haven't had those in a while" Umio also comes in.

"Alright, the loser will also have to make 2 more pizzas and some dessert!" and Uzume is fired up.

"Okay, I'll start. Word" Jared: 4 points.

"Digital" Nepgear: 7 points.

"Log" Neptune: 3 points.

"Goliath" Uzume: 7 points.

"Hyperbolizes" Umio: 12 points. Okay, that word is not common, meaning he has a deep vocabulary.

"Subvention" Jared: 4 + 11 = 15 points. How would Umio react?

"Nonequilibrium" Nepgear: 7 + 14 = 21 points. What? Does Nepgear has a deep set of vocabularies in her disposal? Wow, I learn something new every day.

"Nep Jr. is really smart huh…" her big sister comments.

"Moment" Neptune: 3 + 6 = 9 points.

"I think this game became a little too serious drastically… Hrmmm, Turing" Uzume: 7 + 6: 13 points.

"Of course, this is just a game. But it doesn't hurt to take it seriously… Gormandizing" Umio: 12+ 12 = 24 points.

"Indeed, games are just meant to test your skills or knowledge… Granddaughter" Jared: 15 + 13 = 28 points.

"I think you 2 are taking this a little too seriously… Regurgitate" Nepgear: 21 + 11 = 32 points.

"Says Nep Jr. that's saying very big words… Uhhh… Enumeration?" Neptune: 9 + 11 = 20 points.

"Hahaha! Even Nepsy is taking this seriously. Nonfiction" 13 + 10 = 23 points. Speak for yourself, Uzume.

"It seems everyone is taking this game seriously… Nanotechnologies" Umio: 24 + 16 = 40 points.

"That's a shame, I wanted to play a little more though…Schizophrenia" Jared: 28 + 13 = 41 points.

"Geez, it's all because you 2 started it… Absentmindedness" Nepgear: 32 + 16 = 48 points. Well, Nepgear is going to win first it seems.

"They're… really rallying this game up huh?" Neptune comments at the silliness.

"It's rare for Umio to have fun. So, let them be"

"Oh, it's my turn huh… uh…antidisestablishmentarianism" Neptune: 20 + 28 = 48 points. Wh…what?

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The 4 of us went silent the moment Neptune dropped a 28-character word. Yes, it's a real word and it's 28 characters long. I know she can be sharp in the most unexpected of places, and while I'm not passing her as a total, what's the word, E+ student, she isn't an A+ student either.

"Nepsy, where did you learn that word?"

"I was going online once and someone on some chat said it once, It sounded cool so I memorized it"

'Wow, you're smarter than you let on"

"mhm! Now it's your turn"

"Okay, so I'm gonna play… wait… what's the score?"

"I believe I have 40 points, Jarsy has 41, Nepsy and Gearsy has 48 points" Umio answered.

"Oh, and my points are… wait…"

That's right. She just realized it. She only has 23 points. With the rest of us at the 40's we'll be able to say any word to get us to 50 points. So, if she doesn't come up with a word right now that will get her to 50 points, she'll have to source and make us pizza.

"Uuuuh…" she's sweating bullets.

"Uzume. Time limit" Umio responds.

"…W-wait… time out uh… m, m… oh crap, that's too short… uh…" her voice is cracking. Her hands are shaking. Her eyes are darting all over, she's looking for something to say.

"5…"

"Wait…!"

"4…"

"M… uh… M, m, m, … m…ah"

"3…"

"I got it…"

"2…"

"It's…"

"1…"

"Meat!"


End file.
